thumb|Paris (1824)

John Gibson (19 June 1790 – 27 January 1866) was a Welsh neoclassical sculptor who studied in Rome under Canova. He excelled chiefly in bas-relief, notably the two life-size works The Hours Leading the Horses of the Sun and Phaethon Driving the Chariot of the Sun, but was also proficient in monumental and portrait statuary. He is famous for his statues of Sir Robert Peel (Westminster Abbey), William Huskisson (St George's Square) and Queen Victoria (Houses of Parliament). Gibson was elected a Royal Academician in 1836, and left the contents of his studio to the Royal Academy, where many of his marbles and casts are currently on display.

Life

Early life

thumb|upright|left|Detail of [[Statue of William Huskisson|statue of William Huskisson by John Gibson in Pimlico Gardens, London.]]

Gibson was born near Conwy, Wales, where his father was a market gardener.

When he was nine years old the family were on the point of emigrating to America, but his mother put a stop to this plan on their arrival at Liverpool, where they settled, and where Gibson was sent to school. He became fascinated by the displays in the windows of the city's print shops. The painter and printseller John Turmeau lent him some drawings and plaster casts to copy.

Education

At the age of fourteen, Gibson was apprenticed to a firm of cabinet-makers. He soon took a violent dislike to this work, however, and eventually managed to have his articles bought out by the monumental masons Samuel and Thomas Franceys.

Gibson was soon launched, and distinguished patrons, initially sent by Canova, made their way to his studio in the Via Fontanella. His aim was always purity of character and beauty of form. He rarely declined into the prettiness of Canova, and if he did not often approach the masculine strength of Bertel Thorvaldsen, he more than once surpassed him even in that quality. He was essentially classic in feeling and aim, but here his habit of observation enabled him to achieve a grace beyond the reach of a mere imitator. His subjects were gleaned from the free actions of the Italian people noticed on his walks, and afterwards given such mythological names as best fitted them. Thus a girl kissing a child over her shoulder became a Nymph and Cupid; a woman helping her child with his foot on her hand on to her lap, a Bacchante and Faun; his Amazon Thrown from Her Horse, one of his most original productions, was taken from an accident he witnessed to a female rider in a circus; and Hunter and Dog was also the result of a street scene.

Death

Gibson was elected R.A. in 1836, and bequeathed all his property and the contents of his studio to the Royal Academy, where his marbles and casts are open to the public . He died at Rome on 7 January 1866 and was buried in the Protestant Cemetery there.

Reception

thumb|Tinted Venus, in the [[Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool]]

Gibson made a multiple monument and portrait statues for public places, including work in the group showing Queen Victoria Supported by Justice and Clemency, in the Houses of Parliament. Gibson also created a statue of William Huskisson with a bared arm and the seated figure of Dudley North.

Biographies

The letters between Gibson and Margaret Sandbach, granddaughter of William Roscoe, and a sketch of his life that lady induced him to write, furnish the chief materials for his biography. See his Life, edited by Lady Eastlake.

  • John Gibson R.A. The World of the Master Sculptors is the first biography of Gibson in over a century. The book incorporates many illustrations and highlights Canova, Thorvaldsen, Spencer and Wyatt. .

Published works

  • Imitations of Drawings By Iohn Gibson R.A. Sculptor. Engraved By G. Wenzel And L. Prosseda Rome 1852 [London]: J. Hogarth 1852

Gibson provided almost all the illustrations for:

  • Elizabeth Strutt The Story of Psyche: With a Classical Enquiry Into the Significance and Origin of the Fable; by Elizabeth Strutt with designs in outline By John Gibson Esq. R.A. [London: s.n. 1852].

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Sources

  • Matthews, T. The Biography of John Gibson, R.A., Sculptor, Rome. 1911.
  • Anna Frasca-Rath, John Gibson. Rezeption, Transfer, Inszenierung, Wien 2018. [Online Publikation; https://www.vandenhoeck-ruprecht-verlage.com/themen-entdecken/kunst-und-architektur/kunstgeschichte-kunstwissenschaft/38255/john-gibson-und-antonio-canova?c=1763]
  • John Gibson's Workshop in Rome by Anna Frasca-Rath
  • John Gibson, designer: sculpture and reproductive media in the nineteenth century by Roberto C. Ferrari.2015
  • Bob Speel's site: Article on Gibson
  • National Portrait Gallery: Portrait paintings and busts of Gibson
  • Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg: Cupid the Shepherd
  • http://gibson-trail.uk Virtual Exhibition