The Art Practices of Sculptor John Bacon

A true blue British sculptor from Southwark, John Bacon was born in 1799 and was fascinated by sculpture at a very early age. He apprenticed at Lambeth; a porcelain manufacturer very famous at the time. Bacon was fourteen by the time he worked there as a painter and sculpture modeller. By getting accustomed to the process of high-fired porcelain, he was able to get a good learning foundation for the craft. Eventually during the course of his life, he made use of the technical and practical knowledge base to create his own unique and well-defined porcelain sculptures. Aside from working in porcelain, Bacon also mastered several other media, such as stone-working and marble-carving. He was able to improve an artificial stone sculpting process being used at the Coade Artificial Stone Manufactory.

Sculpture of Father Thames by John Bacon - Photography by John Thaxter

In the late 1700's John Bacon first started working with hard marble material. In 1769, he eventually won a gold medal for sculpture at the Royal Academy for his creation of a bas-relief scenario of Aenas' escape from the city of Troy. Because of this sudden fame, Bacon was then commissioned to create a bust of King George III. This was a landmark moment in his career as a sculptor, and the times to come were much more vibrant in terms of projects and opportunities for him. He went on to do more works for other famous identities and continued to keep the favor of King George throughout a long period of time. Bacon's works can now be seen and studied at St. Paul's Cathedral in London and Pembroke College among others locations.