RYSBRACK, JOHN MICHAEL

Flemish Jan Michiel Rijsbrack born June 27, 1694, Antwerp, Spanish Netherlands [now in Belgium] died Jan. 8, 1770, London, Eng. one of the principal sculptors and designers in England in the 18th century. Rysbrack studied at Antwerp, probably in the workshop of Michael van de Voort. In 1720 he established himself in London, where he lived until his death. Rysbrack worked in a classical, sometimes eclectic manner, avoiding emphatic gestures, exaggerated asymmetry, and extremes of illusionism. His work includes 16 monuments in Westminster Abbey, London; the splendid equestrian statue of William III in Bristol, Gloucestershire; tombs in parish churches all over England; and innumerable portrait busts. In some respects Rysbrack outshone Louis-Franois Roubiliac, his only rival for preeminence in England at that time. Pyramidal composition and judicious choice of material are characteristics of his funeral sculpture.