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The fallen idol
1915
Medium
bronze
Measurements
55.7 × 73.2 × 45.3 cm
Credit Line
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Felton Bequest, 1925
Gallery location
Level 2, NGV Australia
About this work
Largely self-taught as a sculptor, Charles Web Gilbert studied drawing at the National Gallery School under G. F. Folingsby, Bernard Hall and Frederick McCubbin. Web Gilbert worked as a chef in various Melbourne cafes and hotels, where his modelling skills as a pastry cook are thought to have aroused his subsequent interest in sculpture. Web Gilbert met sculptor C. D. Richardson while attending life-drawing classes at the Victorian Artists Society. Under Richardson’s mentorship, he gradually learned the technique of marble carving. During the First World War, Web Gilbert worked in London, where he created several major bronze works, including The fallen idol, before returning to Australia in 1920.
Artwork Details
Inscription
cast in rear: Web Gilbert / 1915
Accession Number
1927-3
Department
Australian Sculpture