I visited a friend who lives in Sherborne, Gloucestershire, last week and came across this fine sculpture in the parish church, The Guardian Angel Tramples Death Underfoot, a monument to the local squire and his wife.
It’s carved with a beautiful lightness of touch from a marble with a remarkably pure and milky quality. But what’s most striking about it is, of course, the skeleton representing death. He seems to be experiencing quite a lot of unreasonable enjoyment from his trampling. But then ‘trampling’ may be over-doing it; rather, the angel’s shapely leg is being placed gingerly on his crotch. What might hurt him more is the look on the angel’s face: it’s as if he’s something the cat’s dragged in. But it doesn’t seem to disconcert him.
It was created in 1791 by Richard Westmacott the Elder who founded a dynasty of sculptors: three of his sons followed him, including his namesake Sir Richard Westmacott, a popular and prolific creator of monumental statuary whose work is scattered across the capital. The next generation also produced sculptors including, to increase the confusion, a third Richard Westmacott, grandson of the first.
The Elder produced other notable works, including a bust of Samuel Johnson. Whilst it admirably captures a certain sensitivity it also transforms the jibbing, shambolic sage into a poised, toga-clad patrician.
that is a fine sculture to find in a small church!
Im still trying to decide whether Johnson looks more like Mel Smith or Martin Bashir without his glasses on.
There was another very fine statue opposite. The local squires were a wealthy, spendthrift family called the Duttons. They had a famous deer course down the road, which is still intact and owned by the National Trust. Could be worth a post!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lodge_Park_and_Sherborne_Estate