George Banks

Discussion

FROM THE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO’S CATALOG

This highly finished terracotta was modeled by Joseph Gott in preparation for a marble portrait of his patron George Banks, a wealthy Yorkshire cloth merchant. Banks sits on a klismos, a style of ancient Greek chair revived by Neoclassical artists during the late 18th century. His pose emulates sculptures from antiquity that depict seated figures resting on one arm with one leg forward. Despite this reference to the idealized grandeur of ancient sculpture, the portrait conveys a modern sense of ease and intimacy. Dressed in contemporary garb, Banks seems to have just turned towards the viewer, his lips slightly parted as if he is about to speak.

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