Seated male figure thumbnail 1
Not currently on display at the V&A

Seated male figure

Panel
1850-1857 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

This is a sketch model for a section of a firedog designed by Stevens for Messrs Henry E. Hoole & Co. Ltd. Firedogs or andirons were placed within the fireplace and would have been used to hold utensials which were required for tending the fire. They stand either side of the fireplace and hold burning logs above the floor in order to allow an updraft of air.
Between 1850 and 1857 Stevens was involved in the design and modelling of grates and fenders for fireplaces for Messrs Hoole and Co. at their Green Lane Works in Sheffield, Yorkshire.

A sculptor, designer and painter, Alfred Stevens (1817/18-1875) rejected contemporary distinctions between fine art and design. From 1850 to 1857 he was chief designer to Hoole & Co., Sheffield, where he produced award-winning designs for metalwork, majolica, terracotta ornaments and chimney-pieces. Perhaps his two greatest works were the decorations for the dining-room at Dorchester House, London (about 1856), for which he made countless drawings inspired by the Italian High Renaissance style, in particular the work of Michelangelo and the monument to the Duke of Wellington for St Paul's Cathedral, London, which was completed after his death. The two allegorical groups from this monument made a lasting impact on the New Sculpture movement. The influence of the Italian Renaissance is evident in much of Steven's work, and is perhaps best reflected in the Wellington monument.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Parts
This object consists of 3 parts.
(Some alternative part names are also shown below)
  • Firedog
  • Plaster Cast
  • Fragment
  • Plaster Cast
  • Fragment
  • Plaster Cast
Titles
  • Seated male figure (generic title)
  • Mother with Child (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Plaster cast
Brief description
Sketch model, panel, for a firedog, plaster cast, seated male figure, from a sketch designed by Alfred Stevens for Messrs Hoole & Co Ltd., English, 1850-1857
Physical description
A male figure, partly draped with a flowing scarf, is seated on a circular moulded pedestal which is supported by four scrolling leaves. He leans on his left hand, with his right outstretched.
Dimensions
  • Height: 41.5cm (including base)
  • Height: 45cm
  • Width: 30.48cm
Object history
Purchased from Mrs Ada Gamble, 12 Stanlake Villas, Shepherd's Bush, London, together with a range of other objects by Stevens, for £175. Mrs Gamble was the widow of James Gamble, a pupil of Stevens, who had a large collection of designs and drawings by his former master.
Historical context
Study for a section of a firedog. Together with its pendant the figures were used as models for firedogs for a grate and fender designed by Stevens for Messrs Henry E. Hoole & Co, Sheffield.
Subjects depicted
Summary
This is a sketch model for a section of a firedog designed by Stevens for Messrs Henry E. Hoole & Co. Ltd. Firedogs or andirons were placed within the fireplace and would have been used to hold utensials which were required for tending the fire. They stand either side of the fireplace and hold burning logs above the floor in order to allow an updraft of air.
Between 1850 and 1857 Stevens was involved in the design and modelling of grates and fenders for fireplaces for Messrs Hoole and Co. at their Green Lane Works in Sheffield, Yorkshire.

A sculptor, designer and painter, Alfred Stevens (1817/18-1875) rejected contemporary distinctions between fine art and design. From 1850 to 1857 he was chief designer to Hoole & Co., Sheffield, where he produced award-winning designs for metalwork, majolica, terracotta ornaments and chimney-pieces. Perhaps his two greatest works were the decorations for the dining-room at Dorchester House, London (about 1856), for which he made countless drawings inspired by the Italian High Renaissance style, in particular the work of Michelangelo and the monument to the Duke of Wellington for St Paul's Cathedral, London, which was completed after his death. The two allegorical groups from this monument made a lasting impact on the New Sculpture movement. The influence of the Italian Renaissance is evident in much of Steven's work, and is perhaps best reflected in the Wellington monument.
Associated object
A.25-1911 (Ensemble)
Bibliographic references
  • Bilbey, Diane with Trusted, Marjorie, British Sculpture 1470 to 2000. A Concise Catalogue of the Collection at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, 2002, pp. 366, 7, cat. no. 551
  • Sir Alfred Gilbert and The New Sculpture. British Sculpture 1850-1930, London: The Fine Art Society, 2008, p. 94
  • Art Journal Illustrated International Catalogue, 1862, p. 55
  • Beattie, Susan, The New Sculpture, New Haven and London: Yale, 1983, p. 2
  • Bilbey, Diane and Trusted, Marjorie. British Sculpture 1470-2000. A Concise Catalogue of the Collection at the Victoria and Albert Museum. London: Victoria and Albert Museum, 2002, p. 366-7, cat. no. 551
  • Bilbey, Diane and Trusted, Marjorie. British Sculpture 1470-2000. A Concise Catalogue of the Collection at the Victoria and Albert Museum. London: Victoria and Albert Museum, 2002, p.366, cat.no 550
  • Review of the Principal Acquisitions during the year 1911, Victoria & Albert Museum, London, published under the Authority of his Majesty's Stationery Office, pp. 6-7
Collection
Accession number
A.26:1 to 3-1911

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Record createdMarch 4, 2003
Record URL
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