after John Flaxman 1755 - 1826
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after John Flaxman (1755 - 1826) "Adoration of the Magi" Bronze, 9.5" x 16"
Mounted on an oak frame with a brass plaque, inscribed
'Richard Sinclair Lovelace Mole from Dixon Henry Davies 12th November 1912'
'Richard Sinclair Lovelace Mole from Dixon Henry Davies 12th November 1912'
John Flaxman is considered to be one of the most important British Neo-Classical sculptors of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. He started out on his career as an artist by working for Josiah Wedgewood, who financed Flaxman’s trip to Rome in 1787, where he was to spend the next seven years. It was during this period of study in Rome, that Flaxman achieved international recognition for his work as a sculptor, designer and engraver.
His reputation as a sculptor is founded primarily on his elegant marble relief sculptures, with their clean lines and simple compositions. He also received many commissions for larger monumental sculptures, and notable examples of these can be found in Westminster Abbey and in St. Paul’s Cathedral, London.
The bronze relief panel of the Adoration of the Magi is a very rare copy of the original in marble, which Flaxman carved in the early 1790’s. The marble original was only attributed to Flaxman in recent years, having been sold anonymously to a private collector, at Christies South Kensington in 2003. It is a very rare example of an autograph piece by Flaxman, as many of his marble sculptures were executed by his assistants in his workshop, and not many pieces executed solely by the artist are known. It is considered of such importance to the history of English art, that the Arts Council of England have placed a ban on its export. Since 2003, it has been exhibited in England at Tate Britain and the Ashmolean Museum and internationally at the Sculpturensammlung und Museum fur Byzantaninische Kunst Staatliche Museen, Berlin.
The composition of this relief sculpture can be traced to two drawings, either by Flaxman or by one of his assistants that are now housed in the British Museum and the Yale Centre for British Art and to a version in plaster which is now in the Sir John Soane’s Museum. The origins of this bronze version are obscure, but it seems that it was commissioned by Dixon Henry Davies in the early years of the 20th century and presented to Richard Sinclair Lovelace Mole in November 1912.
His reputation as a sculptor is founded primarily on his elegant marble relief sculptures, with their clean lines and simple compositions. He also received many commissions for larger monumental sculptures, and notable examples of these can be found in Westminster Abbey and in St. Paul’s Cathedral, London.
The bronze relief panel of the Adoration of the Magi is a very rare copy of the original in marble, which Flaxman carved in the early 1790’s. The marble original was only attributed to Flaxman in recent years, having been sold anonymously to a private collector, at Christies South Kensington in 2003. It is a very rare example of an autograph piece by Flaxman, as many of his marble sculptures were executed by his assistants in his workshop, and not many pieces executed solely by the artist are known. It is considered of such importance to the history of English art, that the Arts Council of England have placed a ban on its export. Since 2003, it has been exhibited in England at Tate Britain and the Ashmolean Museum and internationally at the Sculpturensammlung und Museum fur Byzantaninische Kunst Staatliche Museen, Berlin.
The composition of this relief sculpture can be traced to two drawings, either by Flaxman or by one of his assistants that are now housed in the British Museum and the Yale Centre for British Art and to a version in plaster which is now in the Sir John Soane’s Museum. The origins of this bronze version are obscure, but it seems that it was commissioned by Dixon Henry Davies in the early years of the 20th century and presented to Richard Sinclair Lovelace Mole in November 1912.
