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Male left hand

Model
ca. 1750 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

This life-size terracotta model of a hand is perhaps made by Louis François Roubiliac in ca. 1750. The hand would almost certainly have been used as a model, although no marble versions on monuments corresponding to it have been identified. It could alternatively have served as an example for students and assistants to copy. The Roubiliac sale from which these may have been purchased contained a number of anatomical models, including arms, legs, and knees.

Louis François Roubiliac (1702-1762) was one of the leading sculptors of his generation, and his busts and monuments are among the most important produced in Britain in the first half of the 18th century. He was born in Lyons, and probably trained in Dresden. He was later in Paris, but from 1730 he was based in London, apart from a brief visit to Rome in 1752.


Object details

Category
Object type
TitleMale left hand (named collection)
Materials and techniques
Terracotta
Brief description
Model, terracotta, hand (left male), perhaps by L. F. Roubiliac, England, ca. 1750
Physical description
Terracotta model, male left hand.
Dimensions
  • Height: 27.5cm
Object history
In the possession of the Victorian painter and sculptor, Edward Henry Corbould (1815-1905), father of the donor Mrs Reginald Pot, who gave this piece with five other models.
Subject depicted
Summary
This life-size terracotta model of a hand is perhaps made by Louis François Roubiliac in ca. 1750. The hand would almost certainly have been used as a model, although no marble versions on monuments corresponding to it have been identified. It could alternatively have served as an example for students and assistants to copy. The Roubiliac sale from which these may have been purchased contained a number of anatomical models, including arms, legs, and knees.

Louis François Roubiliac (1702-1762) was one of the leading sculptors of his generation, and his busts and monuments are among the most important produced in Britain in the first half of the 18th century. He was born in Lyons, and probably trained in Dresden. He was later in Paris, but from 1730 he was based in London, apart from a brief visit to Rome in 1752.
Bibliographic references
  • Baker, M, 'Roubiliac's models and eighteenth century English Sculptors' working practices' in Volk, P (ed.) Entwurf und Ansführung in der europaischen Barockplastik Munich, 1936, p. 64.
  • Bilbey, Diane with Trusted, Marjorie. British Sculpture 1470 to 2000. A Concise Catalogue of the Collection at the Victoria and Albert Museum. London: V& A Publications, 2002. pp. 125. cat. no. 173.
Collection
Accession number
A.21-1944

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Record createdJune 24, 2009
Record URL
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