Alexander Pope (1688–1744)
Alexander Pope (1688–1744)
Alexander Pope (1688–1744)
Alexander Pope (1688–1744)
Alexander Pope (1688–1744)
Alexander Pope (1688–1744)

Image credit: The Henry Barber Trust, The Barber Institute of Fine Arts, University of Birmingham

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This magnificent terracotta bust was probably the life model for several other versions, including a marble dated 1738 (now in Leeds). Pope was the greatest poet and critic of his day, celebrated for works including 'The Rape of the Lock', 1712, 'The Essay on Man', 1734, translations of Homer, and for such snappy sayings as 'a little learning is a dangerous thing'. The bust is a masterpiece by the French-born Roubiliac, who moved to England in 1730. It set an auction record for a pre-twentieth century English sculpture when sold in 1970. Pope was suffering from tuberculosis when he sat for his portrait. Roubiliac made no attempt to hide the poet’s physical suffering, but his intellectual power still shines through, dressed in classical costume and he is shown in a bust format associated with antiquity.

The Barber Institute of Fine Arts

Birmingham

Title

Alexander Pope (1688–1744)

Date

c.1738

Medium

terracotta

Measurements

H 62.1 x W 41 x D 22 cm;
Plinth: H 14.3 x W 20.8 x D 20.9 cm

Accession number

70.6

Acquisition method

purchased with the assistance of the Victoria and Albert Museum Purchase Grant Fund, 1970

Work type

Bust

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Normally on display at

The Barber Institute of Fine Arts

University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham, West Midlands B15 2TS England

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