.jpg?w=1)
Lot Essay
The present model is a rare and singular companion piece to the artist’s renowned work, The Mower.
A return to a familiar subject for the artist, the genesis of the composition for both works lay in a boat trip taken in 1882 when Thornycroft observed a mower resting on the banks of the Thames. That year the inspired artist made several study drawings and sketch models in wax and plaster with the Italian workman Orazio Cervi posing as his model.
The original model of The Mower celebrated the pensive and natural energy in man and is believed to be the first representation in British sculpture of a labourer in working attire. Turning to the paintings of Millet and the sculpture of Meunier, Thornycroft found inspiration in the movements of the everyday man and the model has consequently been linked to the ‘naturalism’ movement.
The plaster model was first exhibited at the 1884 Royal Academy and in the following years the artist continued to perseverate on this theme. Thornycroft developed one additional companion piece The Sower, from which a life-size model was cast in 1886 and which was presented to Kew Gardens by the Royal Academy of Arts (now located in the Grass Garden). Several years later in 1890, Thornycroft returned to The Sower, exhibiting a bronze model of the figure in a variant pose, which was then produced in limited edition of twenty-five casts. One bronze from this series is held in the Tate collection (inv. T03963), alongside the original wax sketch model (inv. N04214).
While the artist then went on to produce many bronze figures of The Mower in two variant sizes throughout the early 20th century, A Mower Whetting his Scythe as a unique cast. Modelled in the artist’s house in Oxfordshire a year before his death, the bronze was exhibited at the 1924 Royal Academy before becoming a part of the artist’s personal collection. It was sold along with his former residence, The Old Farmhouse, Combe, to private collectors.
A return to a familiar subject for the artist, the genesis of the composition for both works lay in a boat trip taken in 1882 when Thornycroft observed a mower resting on the banks of the Thames. That year the inspired artist made several study drawings and sketch models in wax and plaster with the Italian workman Orazio Cervi posing as his model.
The original model of The Mower celebrated the pensive and natural energy in man and is believed to be the first representation in British sculpture of a labourer in working attire. Turning to the paintings of Millet and the sculpture of Meunier, Thornycroft found inspiration in the movements of the everyday man and the model has consequently been linked to the ‘naturalism’ movement.
The plaster model was first exhibited at the 1884 Royal Academy and in the following years the artist continued to perseverate on this theme. Thornycroft developed one additional companion piece The Sower, from which a life-size model was cast in 1886 and which was presented to Kew Gardens by the Royal Academy of Arts (now located in the Grass Garden). Several years later in 1890, Thornycroft returned to The Sower, exhibiting a bronze model of the figure in a variant pose, which was then produced in limited edition of twenty-five casts. One bronze from this series is held in the Tate collection (inv. T03963), alongside the original wax sketch model (inv. N04214).
While the artist then went on to produce many bronze figures of The Mower in two variant sizes throughout the early 20th century, A Mower Whetting his Scythe as a unique cast. Modelled in the artist’s house in Oxfordshire a year before his death, the bronze was exhibited at the 1924 Royal Academy before becoming a part of the artist’s personal collection. It was sold along with his former residence, The Old Farmhouse, Combe, to private collectors.