| RefNo | MOB/009 |
| AltRefNo | S/0047 |
| Level | Item |
| Title | Death mask of Isaac Newton |
| Artist | Rysbrack; John Michael (1694 - 1770); sculptor |
| Date | c.1727 |
| Description | Full face death mask of Sir Isaac Newton, taken shortly after his death. |
| Extent | 1 sculpture |
| ObjectName | Sculpture |
| Materials | Plaster, Wax |
| Dimensions | 8 ins high |
| AccessStatus | Open |
| Provenance | Formerly belonged to Louis-François Roubiliac (1702 - 1762), sculptor, from the cast taken after Newton's death, likely by Michael Rysbrack. Purchased and presented to the Society in 1839 by Samuel Hunter Christie FRS. Information taken from " History of the Royal Society" by C R Weld, 1848, Volume IV, pages 446/7.
See also Printed Council Minutes, meeting of 15 January 1857, page 379, where the report by Richard Wesmacott is given of the Condition of the mask and the inadvisability of taking copies. |
| RelatedMaterial | Other copies of this plaster masks at also held at:
Keynes Library, King’s College, Cambridge
Wren Library, Trinity College, Cambridge
Hunterian Museum and Art Gallery, Glasgow
Hunterian Museum and Art Gallery, Glasgow
Babson Newton collection, The Huntingdon, California
Later copies all also held at other institutions, including an iron cast copy in the National Portrait Gallery (NPG 2081). |
| Copies | Digital tiff, 2009 |
| URLDescription | Digital version available on The Royal Society Picture Library |
| URL | https://pictures.royalsociety.org/image-rs-8492 |
| https://pictures.royalsociety.org/image-rs-8493 |
| https://pictures.royalsociety.org/image-rs-8494 |
Fellows associated with this archive
| Code | PersonName | Dates |
| NA8414 | Newton; Sir; Isaac (1642 - 1727); natural philosopher and mathematician | 1642 - 1727 |