Signed and dated 1738; the plinth about 1850
Carved in London by Luis-Francois Roubiliac (1702-1762)
Marble

This full-length marble statue of the composer George Frideric Handel (1685-1759) was commissioned by the entrepreneur and collector Jonathan Tyers, who ran Spring Gardens at Vauxhall in London in the mid-18th century. Handel was then a leading figure in the capital's musical life. Since public life-size marble statues of living subjects were until this date undertaken only for monarchs, noblemen or military leaders, this figure made a considerable impact at the time. It is the earliest-known independent work by Roubiliac, and established his reputation as a sculptor.

Louis Francois Roubiliac (1702-1762) was trained in Lyon, later working in Dresden under a leading Baroque sculptor, Balthasar Permoser (1651-1732), and then studying in Paris before moving to London in about 1730. All his known surviving works were executed in Britain. He specialised in portrait busts and funerary monuments, and was renowned for his handling of marble, particularly his creation of subtle surface textures.

Vauxhall's Spring Gardens flourished during the 18th century. Set up and managed by Jonathan Tyers (1702-1767), it was a fashionable meeting place for Londoners, with supper boxes, promenades and live music (some of it composed by Handel). Works of art were prominently shown, with paintings by Francis Hayman (1708-1776) adorning the supper boxes (covered booths for dining) and marble sculptures set out along the avenues. Tyers is thought to have commissioned these partly to enhance the respectability of the Gardens, which had gained a somewhat disreputable air due to the increasing nocturnal presence of courtesans and common prostitutes.