Black People in European Sculpture Project

25 (07/01/2022)

Victor

The bronze head of ‘Victor’, the young son of Jacob Epstein’s West African cook. The sculpture stands on a two-tier black base.

Head

Base present - appears to be the original base

Height: 26 cm

Width: 17 cm

Depth: 20 cm

Bronze

Casting

Patination

Monochrome – black

Identifiable: specific individual

Main protagonist

Male

Toddler

Child

Free citizen

No clothes included (head)

None

None

Not relevant (head)

Neutral/emotionless

Unfocussed/blank eyeballs

No location included/implied

Twentieth century (1900-1999)

1949

Recorded in related documentation

Decorative

Unknown

LEEAG.SC.1973.0035.0001.LAF

1973: bequeathed to Leeds Art Collections Fund by Jocelyn Horner in memory of Ernest Musgrave

London 1950, no. 11

Epstein found Victor an engaging model and wrote: 'it was a good thing that there was something to compensate for his mother's culinary defects.' Despite the difficulties involved, Epstein was drawn to depict children, observing their moods, gestures and personalities. He wrote: ‘When a sculptor sculpts a child, he has to have endless patience. He must wait and observe, and observe and wait’. He recognised that children ‘cannot sit still, and to compel a child to be quiet is at once to destroy the spontaneity and charm which lie in its frank and natural expressions. Yet I have attempted time and time this most difficult subject for sculpture [...] I know I have by no means exhausted the subject.’

This sculpture is typical of the impressionistically modelled surfaces of Epstein’s work that were based on observation over a number of sittings. The rough texture enhances the psychological aspect, bringing life, movement and a sense of personality. Modelling directly in clay, prior to casting in bronze, Epstein accentuated the structure of the face. Finger marks are evident throughout.

Silber 1986, p. 205, no. 414. The present cast is listed as item 1 under 'Provenance'.