John Michael Rysbrack

Happy Birthday John Michael Rysbrack!! (Known as Michael) The Flemish sculptor was born in 1693. His father, Peter, was a landscape painter. Michael began as an architect assistant but then turned to sculpture, becoming England’s most highly regarded sculptor of the day. He created numerous busts and funerary works for prominent personalities. Perhaps his most well known work is his Hercules which exhibits the ideal male figure. It is said he used wrestlers and boxers as his models, taking the “best parts” for his final sculpture.