It seemed appropriate that a posthumous, sculptured he ad of Capability Brown be unveiled with other contemporary works which are inspired by Brown’s landscapes.
The clay developed from the only physical evidence we have of Brow n and his nearest relatives, namely the paintings and sketches which were created by artists from a living Lancelot Brown.
This sculpting process is far remove d from having a living sitter; it takes on a forensic reconstruction using this secondary evidence, but relies on the artist’s intuition to draw threads together where documentary sources are sparser; the hop e is that the magic spark somehow jumps in to the work.
The investigation has also led to collaboration with Brow n’s living relatives in the hope of facial similarities; a sitting also took place with a Northumbrian having similar bone structure to our man. During the 5 months of the creation of the clay, scrutiny of the key painted portraits has opened questions as to the relationship to the Nathaniel Dance original work and the more informal painting attributed to Richard Cosway. The original clay is fired to terracotta, which is comparatively fragile. Being cast in bronze will allow the head to appear in public locations for posterity.
