Statuette of René Descartes
Robert-Guillaume Dardel (1749 - 1821)
Date: circa 1782
Place Made: France
Materials & Techniques: Terracotta
Dimensions: Height 43.2cm
Accession Number: The Wallace Collection, S61
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This statue is of the French philosopher (thinker), scientist and mathematician René Descartes. It was made 100 years after he died, in the 1780s, by another Frenchman called Robert-Guillaume Dardel.
The statue is made from terracotta, a type of water-resistant clay. At the bottom of the statue some of the surface has been broken off so you can see what it looks like underneath. Terracotta sculptures were often used as models for larger sculptures made from bronze or marble.
Descartes is with the sun and they are coming out of the clouds. Look at the different surfaces of the terracotta. The cloud is round and has lots of holes in it to make it look soft and light. Descartes’s clothes are smooth and folded. The sun has strong rays coming through the cloud. What sort of tools do you think were used to create these different effects?
Teachers' Information
Little is known about Dardel, but we do know that he also made a sculpture of Newton and is thought that the two pieces may be a linked pair glorifying the power of science and reason. The statue of Descartes was also created for patriotic reasons; to celebrate France’s intellectual thinkers.
Activities
1. You could examine the way that Dardel has sculpted different textures. Ask the children to push objects with different textures into clay or plasticine and then try and recreate that effect with simple plastic tools and your hands.
2. You could examine other patriotic statues such as Nelson’s Column. Think about the ways that different figures have been represented. Do they stand alone or are they with another person or object?