Bust of Nicolas Coustou

The sitter, dressed informally, looks to his right. Nicolas Coustou was the brother of Guillaume Coustou I, both well-known sculptors extensively employed by Louis XIV and Louis XV at Marly, Versailles, and elsewhere. This bust probably dates from about 1710. A little earlier, from about 1700, the two brothers had been working together on the sculpture at Versailles. It is closely related to the terracotta bust of Nicolas Coustou by Guillaume Coustou I in the Louvre, only differing from it in a few details. This was the first bust by Guillaume Coustou I to enter an English public collection and is an early example of the realistic French 18th century portrait-bust, by the sculptor of the Horses of Marly in the Champs Elysees, Paris.