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Image of Gallery in South Kensington
On display at V&A South Kensington
Sculpture, Room 21, The Dorothy and Michael Hintze Galleries

Mask of a Dead Faun

Mask
ca. 1923 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

The Dead Faun, by British artist Glyn Philpot (1884-1937), is based on a plaster modelled in 1912. It was originally cast in bronze in about 1920, and this particular cast, one of a small number, was given by the artist as a wedding present to its former owners, Jack and Joanna Evers, in 1928. One cast is recorded as having been exhibited at Grosvenor Galleries in 1923.

Philpot is best known as a painter of society portraits, and for the important decorative mural scheme he executed for the drawing room of his patrons Henry and Gwen Mond in Mulberry House, London in 1930. Philpot's life was marked by the tension between a respectable public life of strict Christian observance, his homosexuality and his desire for unrestrained artistic expression. The Dead Faun's overt sensuality epitomises Philpot's 1920s, a period in which he increasingly experimented with sculpture. Of the fourteen sculptural works he executed, this is the only one that sold well during his lifetime.

The model for the bronze was probably George Bridgman, whom Philpot met before the First World War. Bridgman's physique and good looks represented an ideal for the artist, who depicted him in several of his paintings. This mask is in the tradition of Rodin, but also manifests the angular Art Deco style Philpot deployed later in the Mulberry House painted scheme. In the 1984 catalogue to the monographic exhibition, Robert Gibson writes: 'If there is any criticism to be made of the Dead Faun is that it does not seem dead but instead exudes a warmth and vitality in its modelling', seeing this work as a 'timeless elegy to the passing of youth'.


Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleMask of a Dead Faun (assigned by artist)
Materials and techniques
Cast bronze
Brief description
Mask, cast bronze, 'The Dead Faun', by Glyn Philpot, Great Britain, ca. 1923
Physical description
Cast bronze mask with dark green patina, fitted to a plain black slate socle. The subject is the face of a young male inclined slightly to the right, eyes closed and hair falling forward.
Dimensions
  • Including socle height: 41.5cm
  • Socle height: 17.5cm
  • Socle width: 15cm
  • Socle depth: 12.5cm
  • Whole sculpture (with plinth) weight: 12kg
Gallery label
Glyn Philpot made his name as a painter of society portraits, but in the 1920s he became interested in sculpture and the male nude. This dramatic change of direction was largely due to tensions between his public life of Christian observance and academic painting, and his private homosexuality and desire for artistic experiment. This mask shows the model George Bridgeman, whose good looks and physique represented an ideal for Philpot.(28/04/09)
Object history
Purchased in 2008 for a total of £11,000 from Strachan Fine Art Ltd using a Departmental Purchase Grant and Central Funds.
Prior: It was given as a wedding present to the original owners, Jack and Joanna Evers, in 1928. By family descent until sold at Christie's, 21 March 1996. lot 42.
Subject depicted
Summary
The Dead Faun, by British artist Glyn Philpot (1884-1937), is based on a plaster modelled in 1912. It was originally cast in bronze in about 1920, and this particular cast, one of a small number, was given by the artist as a wedding present to its former owners, Jack and Joanna Evers, in 1928. One cast is recorded as having been exhibited at Grosvenor Galleries in 1923.

Philpot is best known as a painter of society portraits, and for the important decorative mural scheme he executed for the drawing room of his patrons Henry and Gwen Mond in Mulberry House, London in 1930. Philpot's life was marked by the tension between a respectable public life of strict Christian observance, his homosexuality and his desire for unrestrained artistic expression. The Dead Faun's overt sensuality epitomises Philpot's 1920s, a period in which he increasingly experimented with sculpture. Of the fourteen sculptural works he executed, this is the only one that sold well during his lifetime.

The model for the bronze was probably George Bridgman, whom Philpot met before the First World War. Bridgman's physique and good looks represented an ideal for the artist, who depicted him in several of his paintings. This mask is in the tradition of Rodin, but also manifests the angular Art Deco style Philpot deployed later in the Mulberry House painted scheme. In the 1984 catalogue to the monographic exhibition, Robert Gibson writes: 'If there is any criticism to be made of the Dead Faun is that it does not seem dead but instead exudes a warmth and vitality in its modelling', seeing this work as a 'timeless elegy to the passing of youth'.
Bibliographic references
  • This object features in 'Out on Display: A selection of LGBTQ-related objects on display in the V&A', a booklet created by the V&A's LGBTQ Working Group. First developed and distributed to coincide with the 2014 Pride in London Parade, the guide was then expanded for the Queer and Now Friday Late that took place in February 2015.
  • Melissa Hamnett, '"The dead faun" by Glyn Philpot', The Burlington Magazine, CLI, November 2009, pp. 768-770
  • Robert Gibson, Glyn Philpot: Edwardian Aesthete to Thirties Modernist, exh. cat., National Portrait Gallery, 1984, p. 119.
  • J. Delaney, Glyn Philpot: His Life and Art, Ashgate, 1999, p. 165
Collection
Accession number
A.4-2008

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Record createdOctober 23, 2008
Record URL
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