Gilbert's Study of a Head Bronze Sculpture

Cast after a model by Sir Alfred Gilbert M.V.O RA (British, 1854-1934), study of a head (head of a girl), bronze on stone plinth, height 48 cm. Provenance: The Maas gallery, London. Purchased from the above in 2013. Other Notes: This sculpture is an unauthorised cast after Alfred Gilbert's 'Study of a Head' 1882, which he exhibited at the Royal Academy the following year. There it 'Brought a new outlook in sculpture' according to sculptor William Goscombe John (1860-1952). 'Study of a Head' was the first bronze Gilbert exhibited at the Royal Academy and followed his return to London from Italy. The model was Francis Gilbert's wetnurse in Rome, Michaelena. Gilbert captured the monumentally of ancient and renaiassance traditions, while simultaneously infusing the sculpture with a sensual and introspective expression. This complex duality would distinguish his career and define the new sculpture movement generally.