The Sculptor
c. 1800RCIN 810559
Rowlandson's etching is a routine juxtaposition of a beautiful young woman and a lecherous old man, but more specifically a satire at the expense of the sculptor Joseph Nollekens, who is shown working on a clay model of Venus Suckling Cupid. The many sculptures allude to Nollekens's work as a restorer and copyist – with the taint of fakery – of classical statuary.
No. 76