Lot 102: JOHN GIBSON BRITISH, 1791-1866

signed: I. GIBSON FECIT ROMÆ

white marble

44.5cm., 17 1/2 in.

John Gibson, the leading English neo-classical sculptor in Rome and a pupil of both Canova and Thorvaldsen, referred to these works as his 'fancy busts'. He often took the compositions from his most successful full-length statues, or made original designs to create refined sculptures for private collectors visiting his studio.

The present bust of a Nymph relates closely to the Nymph untying her Sandal (1831), one of Gibson's most important early commissions, made for the Earl of Yarborough and exhibited at the Royal Academy. In this bust, however, Gibson has significantly changed the formation of the hair. Other examples in this genre are his bust of a Naiad from the group of Hylas and the Naiads, Tate Gallery, and the bust of Aurora from the statue in the National Museum of Wales.

Gibson admired the ideal heads of Canova and wrote: 'there is a dignity in the female heads of the antique but in Canova a sweet and tender loveliness is the most predominant (feature); in the antique the edges of the nose are more sharp, Canova softens that part like nature'. 'Ideal' and 'fancy' busts were made by many of the leading nineteenth century sculptors in Rome, including Pietro Tenerani, R.J. Wyatt and Hiram Powers.

The Nymph combines classical imagery and detailing- particularly the hair-style- with soft, child-like features that would have appealed to Victorian patrons. Other versions are in the Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool, and the Henry Huntingdon Library and Art Gallery, California.