Thursday 15 December 2016

Bust of Sir Robert Cotton in the Wren Library Trinity College Cambridge

 
 
The Marble Bust of Sir Robert Bruce Cotton (1571 - 1631).
Founder of the Cotton Library.
Bust in the Wren Library,
Trinity College, Cambridge.
 
Louis Francois Roubiliac.
 
Commissioned by Eliab Harvey and finished in 1757.
 
For the Cottonian Library see -
 
 Sir Robert Bruce Cotton was educated at Westminster School and Jesus College, Cambridge. By 1588 or perhaps even earlier he had started collecting. In its final form his collection included manuscripts, maps, charters, rolls, printed books, inscriptions, stones (such as Roman monuments from the north of England), medals, coins, seals and curiosities. In 1622 he settled in Cotton House, Westminster.
 
His library was open to scholars including Francis Bacon, William Camden, Sir Walter Raleigh, Seiden and others. On the foundation of the Bodleian Library in 1601, he sent a gift of manuscripts.
 He was knighted by James I in 1603; the following year he was elected MP for Huntingdon, and was created baronet in 1611. He subsequently sat for Old Sarum in 1624, Thetford in 1625 and Castle Rising in 1628-9. In 1615-16 he was imprisoned for trying to shield the Earl of Somerset. In the 1620s he attached himself to the Parliamentary party and published political tracts. He was excluded by order of King Charles I from his library in 1629-31. Some of Cotton's papers were printed posthumously.
This text lifted from the British Museum website (see below for the terracotta bust.
 
 
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Sir Robert Cotton had organised his library according to the case, shelf and position of a book within a room twenty-six feet long and six feet wide. Each of the fourteen bookcase in his library was topped by busts of classical personages, including Augustus Caesar, Caligula, Claudius, Cleopatra, Julius Caesar, Domitian, Faustina, Galba, Nero, Otho, Tiberius, Titus, Vespasian, Vitellius.
 
In total, he had fourteen busts, and his scheme worked by Bust-Shelf - letter-Volume number from end.
 
 Thus, the two most famous of the manuscripts from the Cotton library are "Cotton Vitellius A.xv" and "Cotton Nero A.x." In Cotton's own day, that meant "Under the bust of Vitellius, top shelf (A), and count fifteen over," for the Liber Monstrorum of the Beowulf manuscript, or "Go to the bust of Nero, top shelf, tenth book" for the manuscript containing all the works of the Pearl Poet.
 
The manuscripts are still catalogued by these call numbers in the British Library.
 
This I believe is the first mention of the use of classical busts in an English Library.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
All images above copyright the Master and Fellows of Trinity College, Cambridge.
 
I am very grateful to Sandy Paul, Sub Librarian at Trinity College Library for arranging for me to receive these photographs.
see -
http://www.facebook.com/trin.coll.cam.lib 
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The Terracotta Bust of Sir Robert Cotton.
 
The British Museum.
 
Photographs by the author.
 
The terracotta was retained by Eliab Harvey, the second son of William and Mary Harvey and retained by the family until acquired by the British Museum in 1924 after previously being offered to the National Portrait Gallery who unfortunately for them were unable to take posthumous busts! It had been advertised in the Connoisseur in May 1922 at the pice of £150.
 
Roubiliac was responsible for the monument to William and Mary Harvey at the church of St Andrew, Hempstead, Essex erected in 1758.
see British Museum website -
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Sir Robert Cotton
Terracotta
Height 78 cms
British Museum
 
Photographs the author.
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Sir Robert Bruce Cotton, 1st Bt, by Thomas Cross, after  Cornelius Johnson, published 1655 - NPG D28023 - © National Portrait Gallery, London


Sir Robert Cotton
engraving by T. Cross after Cornelius Jansens
135 x 91 mm
1655
National Portrait Gallery

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Sir Robert Bruce Cotton, 1st Bt, by Robert White, published 1696 (1629) - NPG D28024 - © National Portrait Gallery, London

Sir Robert Cotton
engraving
Robert White
300 x 188 mm
1696
National Portrait Gallery

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Sir Robert Bruce Cotton, 1st Bt, by George Vertue, after  Unknown artist, published 1744 - NPG D28026 - © National Portrait Gallery, London

Sir Robert Cotton
Engraving - BM say after Cornelius Janssen formerly believed to be by Paul van Somer
from Vetusta Monumenta - pub. The Society of Antiquaries
The original with the Society of Antiquaries
George Vertue
504 x 356 mm.
1747
Nation Portrait Gallery
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Robert Bruce Cotton (1571–1631), Antiquary and Politician
 
Sir Robert Cotton
Portrait Attrib. Cornelius Jansens
(Cornelis Janssens van Ceulen, 1593 - 1661)
56 x 43 cms
1629
Trinity College, Cambridge
 
 
Portrait of Sir Robert Bruce Cotton (1571-1631), oval with shields of arms at the top and the date '1629' at the bottom.  Head and bust, turned half-r., eyes looking full.  Oil painting on canvas
 
 
 
Image 7. Detail of face before restoration, March 2008. For conservation treatment record search event requisition number 91988 on conservation merlin.   Portrait of Sir Robert Bruce Cotton (1571-1631), oval with shields of arms at the top and the date '1629' at the bottom.  Head and bust, turned half-r., eyes looking full.  Oil painting on canvas
 
 
Sir Robert Cotton
attrib. Cornelius Jansens
(Cornelis Janssens van Ceulen, 1593 - 1661)
1629
British Museum

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Sir Robert Cotton
Internet image from a so far unidentified source.
Engraved by George Vertue (see above).
Cornelius Janssen.
Dawson of the British Museum suggests that this portrait was the inspiration for the Roubiliac bust but I believe that he would also  have seen the other engravings illustrated above.
 
 
 
Bust of Sir Robert Cotton
Coninigton Church
 
attribMarshall
 
Image result for Bust of Sir Robert Cotton
 
 
 
 
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The Harvey Family Monuments Hempstead, Essex.
 
 
 
Monument to Doctor William Harvey
 
Monument to William Harvey
Edward Marshall.
 
Marble bust of English physician William Harvey by Edward Marshall; at Harvey Chapel, St. Andrew’s Church in Hempstead, Essex, Eng.
 
The bust of William Harvey
Edward Harvey
 
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 Page from the Graphic magazine
 
 
Monument to William and Mary Harvey by Louis Francois Roubiliac.
 
 

Bust of Isaac Barrow in the Wren Library Trinity College, Cambridge.


The Marble Bust of Isaac Barrow (1630 - 1677).
Master 1673 - 77
 in the Wren Library 
Trinity College, Cambridge.
Louis Francois Roubiliac.














All images above copyright the Master and Fellows of Trinity College, Cambridge.

I am very grateful to Sandy Paul Sub Librarian at Trinity College Library for arranging for me to receive these photographs.
see -
http://www.facebook.com/trin.coll.cam.lib 



Isaac Barrow
Engraving by David Loggan
243 x 176 mm
1676

British Museum







Isaac Barrow
Engraving after David Loggan
150 x 94 mm.
18th Century
British Museum




Isaac Barrow
engraving after David Loggan
149 x 97 mm.
1727 - 46.

British Museum.

Image result for Portrait "Isaac Barrow"



Isaac Barrow
Original Plumbago Drawing
David Loggan
129 x 108 mm.
dated 1676

National Portrait Gallery

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The British Museum Clay bust of Isaac Barrow
see -















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Isaac Barrow (1630–1677), Master (1673–1677), Mathematician and Theologian

Isaac Barrow

Mary Beale
Trinity College, Cambridge.

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Isaac Barrow (1630–1677), Master (1673–1677), Mathematician and Theologian
Isaac Barrow
Trinity College, Cambridge.
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The Monument to Isaac Barrow
Westminster Abbey
Engraved by J Cole
 
Photography by Carlos Dorce
Monument to Isaac Barrow
Westminster Abbey
attrib. John Bushnell.



This very poor low resolution photograph
From the Official Westminster Abbey Website.
Note the resolution is just too low so that it is impossible to read the inscription.


A better photograph is available for purchase!