ROUBILIAC, Louis-François
(b. 1705, Lyon, d. 1762, London)

Tomb of Sir Joseph and Lady Elizabeth Nightingale

1761
Marble
Westminster Abbey, London

In the marvellously dramatic tomb of Lady Elizabeth Nightingale (1761), she is shown being attacked with a spear by Death (a hideous skeleton emerging from a vault), while her husband vainly tries to keep him at bay (the skeleton was carved by Roubiliac's assistant Nicolas Read, c. 1733-87). The Nightingale monument clearly shows the influence of Bernini, whose work so impressed Roubiliac when he visited Rome in 1752.




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