A Carved White Marble Figure of a Gentlemen by Randolph Rogers
$14,500.00
Fine 19th century white carved marble bust of a gentleman with mustache wearing a Toga.
Signed: Randolph Rogers, Rome.
Circa: 1850
Height: 31" (78 cm)
Width: 21" (53 cm)
Depth: 15" (38 cm)
Randolph John Rogers (July 6, 1825, Waterloo, New York – January 15, 1892, Rome, Italy) was an American Neoclassical sculptor. An expatriate who lived most of his life in Italy, his works ranged from popular subjects to major commissions, including the Columbus Doors at the U.S. Capitol and American Civil War monuments. Born in Waterloo, New York, he spent most of his childhood in Ann Arbor, Michigan. He developed an interest in wood cuts and wood engraving, and moved to New York City about 1847, but was unsuccessful in finding employment as an engraver. While working as a clerk in a dry-goods store, his employers discovered his native talent as a sculptor and provided funds for him to travel to Italy. He began study in Florence in 1848, where he studied briefly under Lorenzo Bartolini. He then opened a studio in Rome in 1851. He resided in that city until his death in 1892.
He began his career carving statues of children and portrait busts of tourists. He was not happy working with marble consequently all his marble statues were copied in his studio by Italian artisans under his supervision, from an original produced by him in another material. This also enabled him to profit from his popular works. His first large-scale work was Ruth Gleaning (1853), based on a figure in the Old Testament. It proved extremely popular, and up to 20 marble replicas were produced by his studio. His next large-scale work was Nydia, the Blind Flower Girl of Pompeii (1853-1854), based on a character in Edward Bulwer-Lytton's best-selling novel, The Last Days of Pompeii. It proved even more popular, and his studio produced at least 77 marble replicas.
