Portrait of Lord Byron - Workshop of Bertel Thorvaldsen (1770-1844)

Bertel Thorvaldsen (1770-1844) workshop

PORTRAIT OF LORD BYRON

Rome
Marble, c 1817-22
Inscribed: L.BYRON.ROMA.FECE

Provenance:
Private Collection, NY
ALR Ref: S00248093


H 23 x W 17,5 x D 5,5 cm
H 9 x W 6 7/8 x D 2 1/8 inch?
Oval marble relief portraying Lord Byron in left-facing profile, wearing a laurel wreath tied at the nape of the neck. The hair is brushed forward with long curling locks at the temple; the forehead slopes gently above a curved eyebrow; the nose is slightly fleshy; the lips full; the chin rounded and firm. The ear is lobeless, a physiognomic detail repeatedly noted by contemporaries and present in Thorvaldsen’s bust from life.
The bust is truncated at the base of the neck and set against a plain oval ground. The surface shows subtle tonal variation and light wear consistent with age; the reverse is plain.

This relief derives from the celebrated bust of Lord Byron modelled from life in Rome in 1817 by Bertel Thorvaldsen. While differing in execution and degree of idealisation from the autograph bust, the relief clearly depends on Thorvaldsen’s Roman model, rather than on painted or graphic sources.

Stylistic features - notably the softer modelling of the lips and neck, the fuller flesh, and the freer treatment of the hair - distinguish the relief from Thorvaldsen’s own carving, yet remain consistent with works produced within his Roman workshop. Such characteristics are typical of workshop translations executed by pupils and assistants from the master’s clay or plaster models.

The inscription, including the word fece, should be understood according to Roman sculptural practice of the early 19th century, where fece denotes artistic authorship or responsibility rather than exclusive manual execution. In Thorvaldsen’s case, this formulation was frequently applied to works executed wholly or in part by assistants under his supervision.

On stylistic and contextual grounds, an attribution to Rudolf Schadow, a close pupil of Thorvaldsen active in Rome until his death in 1822, has been proposed in the scholarly literature. Schadow is documented as having direct access to Thorvaldsen’s models and as producing portrait reliefs closely aligned with the present work. While a definitive attribution to Schadow cannot be established, his involvement remains plausible and consistent with workshop practice.

The relief should therefore be regarded as an early Roman workshop version after Thorvaldsen’s Byron, sculpted between 1817 and 1822.




Reference Bibliography:

Annette Peach, Portraits of Byron, The Walpole Society, vol. [ ], pp. [ ], cat. nos. 19.20–19.23.

J. M. Thiele, Den Danske Billedhugger Bertel Thorvaldsen, Copenhagen.

Else Kai Sass, Thorvaldsen: Master of Danish Neoclassicism, Copenhagen.

Thorvaldsens Museum, Copenhagen, collection and archival records.