286 British Sculpture. of the three. He studied under Bernini, and appears in many respects to have excelled his master. His master- piece is the statue of Sir Isaac Newton with the prism in his hand, in the library of Cambridge, which is remarkable for life and vigour, but more so for a nobility of pose and dignity of bearing rarely equalled by the best works of a better age. Another famous work of his is Eloquence, one of the figures in the monument of John, Duke of Argyle, at Westminster Abbey. The Nightingale monu- ment in the same place has been much criticised ; its idea is in keeping with the conceits of the time. The design is Death kept away by a human arm ; and the execution of the skeleton and of the drapery in which it is wrapped are very fine. Roubiliac's title to one of the highest positions among the sculptors of Britain is gained, in spite of such works as this tour de force just alluded to. His modelling of head and hands, his perfect mastery over his material, and his power of throwing life into all that he touched, are his great characteristics. In no works can these qualities be better traced than in his statue of Shakespeare, now in the vestibule of the British Museum. Ruysbrack's and Scheemakers' principal works include busts, statues, and monumental figures, but hardly call for detailed description. Somewhat later than this famous trio, an Englishman, Joseph Wilton, acquired celebrity by his monument of General Wolfe in Westminster Abbey, and many similar works, in which he displayed much skill and talent, but ignorance of the true limits of his art. The monument to Wolfe, for instance, is crowded with figures and symbols mixed together in hopeless confusion. In 1790 he was made Keeper of the Royal Academy.
