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Bust - Homer

Homer

  • Object:

    Bust

  • Place of origin:

    England, Great Britain (made)

  • Date:

    1764 (dated)

  • Artist/Maker:

    Harwood, Francis (carver)

  • Materials and Techniques:

    Marble

  • Credit Line:

    Given by Bert Crowther

  • Museum number:

    A.8-1958

  • Gallery location:

    British Galleries, room 52e, case WE

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Object Type
This bust of the ancient Greek poet Homer may have been one of a set carved for a library. It was made in Florence, where the sculptor Francis Harwood spent some of his working life, mostly undertaking commissions for British visitors on the Grand Tour. Library busts, usually set on top of bookcases, were extremely popular in the homes of the well-to-do and in universities (for example, the library at Trinity College, Cambridge) in the18th century.

People
Francis Harwood (born about 1727; died 1783) spent 30 years working first in Rome and then in Florence. He specialised in carving busts and figures after the antique, including the Venus de' Medici and the Apollo Belvedere. The sculptor Joseph Nollekens (1737-1823) wrote in a letter from Rome in 1769 in his idiosyncratic style: 'there is F.H. at Florence who is knocking the marbil about like feway, & belive he as got more work to do than any One Sculptor in England'.

Materials & Making
Marble busts were among the most prestigious types of portrait commissioned in Britain during the 18th century. Harwood was able to obtain the material relatively easily in Italy, probably from the quarries at Carrara. He may also have learned the skills needed to carve marble in Florence, or more probably Rome, which was the most important artistic centre for an aspiring artist at this date, partly because of the rich collections of antique sculpture, and partly because of the concentration of both artists and patrons.

Physical description

Bearded portrait of Homer facing straight. Signed and dated.

Place of Origin

England, Great Britain (made)

Date

1764 (dated)

Artist/maker

Harwood, Francis (carver)

Materials and Techniques

Marble

Marks and inscriptions

'F.Harwood fecit 1764'

Dimensions

Height: 70 cm including socle, Width: 52 cm, Depth: 41 cm, Weight: 50 kg estimated

Object history note

Carved by Francis Harwood (born about 1727, died in Florence, Italy, 1783).
Given by Mr. Bert Crowther.
Formerly at Gordon Castle, Banffshire, Scotland. Given by Bert Crowther, Isleworth in 1958, though actually received into the Museum in 1948 together with its pendant bust of Seneca (V&A. mus. no. A.26-1948). On long-term loan to Chiswick House from 1958, returned to the Museum in December 1990.

Descriptive line

Bust, marble, Homer, by Francis Harwood, after the Antique, England or Florence, signed and dated 1764

Bibliographic References (Citation, Note/Abstract, NAL no)

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. 89, cat.no. 121
Ingamells, John (ed.), A Dictionary of British and Irish Travellers in italy 1701-1800, New Haven, 1997, pp. 472-3
for Harwood see
Gunnis, R., Dictionary of British Sculptors 1660-1851, (revised edition, first published London 1953), London, 1968, p. 191

Labels and date

British Galleries:
Copies of antique busts, especially of ancient Greek and Roman writers, were purchased by British patrons who were unable to obtain originals. This demand was met by sculptors such as Francis Harwood who spent his career in Florence, 'knocking out the marble like fury'. [27/03/2003]

Production Note

Signed and dated 1764. Probably carved in Florence.

Materials

Marble

Subjects depicted

Homer

Categories

Portraits; Sculpture

Collection code

SCP

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Qr_O77814
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