Walter Savage Landor 1828

This is a bronze bust of Walter Savage Landor by John Gibson. Gibson was a British neoclassical sculptor working in nineteenth-century Rome. Sculptors like Gibson and Antonio Canova found themselves in high demand creating portrait sculptures for wealthy tourists enacting the "Grand Tour". Neoclassical sculpture, as you see here, aimed to resurrect the artistic values and styles of ancient Greece and Rome. Its visual codes suggested moral virtue and civic responsibility. The stern and serious countenance, for instance, was a standard feature in the repertoire of classical portraiture, and this was often preferred by a clientele that prized self-discipline. The bust format itself has a long history in Europe, and its popularity reflected the desire to capture and commemorate notable individuals. Gibson’s bust embodies that tradition, as it represents the celebrated English writer and poet Walter Savage Landor. Art historical research into sculpture from this time relies on archival materials, such as letters and commission records, that illuminate the social context of their production.