The Sobieskis and Stuarts. Bust of Prince Charles Edward Stuart, 2024

from a recreated mould of the original plaster cast made by Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne (1746)
contemporary bronze cast, 2024
private collection

Toward the end of 1746, Charles commissioned several casts of a bust by Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne the Younger (1704–1778) in plaster which was then gilded. The lack of any references to royal status suggests that this image was solely intended to capture the prince’s true likeness. It was considered by contemporaries to be extremely accurate in capturing the sitter’s features. A leading English supporter of the Stuarts, Dr William King, commented in 1750: ‘He has a handsome face and good eyes; I think his busts, which about this time were commonly sold in London, are more like him than any of his pictures’, referring to the miniature plaster copies which were sold in London until the 1820s.