CA0689 White marble bust of John Milton

Beautifully weathered white marble library bust of the hugely important and influential blind English epic poet John Milton (1608-1674), author of Paradise Lost, after a model John Michael Rysbrack (1694-1770). Milton lived through one of the most tumultuous periods of English history, he was a poet and intellectual who served as a civil servant for the Commonwealth of England under its Council of State and later under Oliver Cromwell. Incredibably he wrote Paradise Lost, one of the most important works in history, after going blind. The epic poem some have argued invented the idea of the anti hero. Lovely rough weathered patina indicating this bust spent many years outside in a garden or wall niche. Sitting on its original classical marble socle. Milton was greatly admired in 19th Century England and America with his bust displayed in home libraries, parlors and gardens to signal the culture of the owner. English, probably early 19th century.

H 51cm x W 35cm D 18.5cm