Spornberg, Jacob (McKechnie Section 6)
See also Section Three
An artist, Finnish by birth, who settled in England and eventually, at the end of his life, emigrated to the United States, where he died. Spornberg painted a few silhouettes in black, on glass (see Section Three), but his most important achievement lies in his magnificent series of profiles painted in the 'Etruscan man-ner', to use his own description of a technique which he himself devised. These profiles are painted in line on a vermilion red base colour against a black background, on the under side of convex glass. He also painted a few profiles in two other styles in which the sitters' features are shown: profiles painted en grisaille on ivory, and profiles painted on card.
Spornberg is recorded (without an initial) by Mills and (either with the wrong initial, or as one of two brothers) by other authorities. The present entry is based on the fullest account of the artist and his family yet published: in my own book, Jacob Spornberg: Eighteenth Century Artist from Finland (London, 1971).
112
The Reverend John Stephens
Profile by Jacob Spornberg, 1792.
The long bob wig, in favour for many years with clerics.
The frock of the late 1780s, with the ‘fall’ of the collar dipping at the back to a point, and the angular lapel, also typical of the period.
The button between lapel and collar, as well as the large buttons, closely spaced, are both features which are typical of frocks of the late 1780s.
The bow on the cravat, usually worn at this date.
The Reverend John Stephens
Profile by Jacob Spornberg, 1792.
costume dating points
The long bob wig, in favour for many years with clerics.
The frock of the late 1780s, with the ‘fall’ of the collar dipping at the back to a point, and the angular lapel, also typical of the period.
The button between lapel and collar, as well as the large buttons, closely spaced, are both features which are typical of frocks of the late 1780s.
The bow on the cravat, usually worn at this date.
Author’s collection
SECTION SIX
1565
Jacob Spornberg
Cut silhouette by Lucius Gahagan, 1828. Gahagan was a member of a family of sculptors who were living in Bath at the same time as Jacob and Rebecca Spornberg.
Jacob Spornberg
Cut silhouette by Lucius Gahagan, 1828. Gahagan was a member of a family of sculptors who were living in Bath at the same time as Jacob and Rebecca Spornberg.
By courtesy of Miss N. Furber
1566
Rebecca Spornberg
Cut silhouette by Lucius Gahagan, 1828.
Rebecca Spornberg
Cut silhouette by Lucius Gahagan, 1828.
By courtesy of Miss N. Furber
1567
No. 5 Old Street (formerly Bond Street), Bath, where Jacob and Rebecca Spornberg lived c. 1801-1811. The numbering now beings with No. 5, since Nos 1-4 were demolished c. 1887
To make room for the horse traffic passing from Quiet Street into New Bond Street. The coat of arms over No. 5 was probably added after the Spornbergs’ time.
No. 5 Old Street (formerly Bond Street), Bath, where Jacob and Rebecca Spornberg lived c. 1801-1811. The numbering now beings with No. 5, since Nos 1-4 were demolished c. 1887
To make room for the horse traffic passing from Quiet Street into New Bond Street. The coat of arms over No. 5 was probably added after the Spornbergs’ time.
Photograph taken by the author
1568
The Reverend J. Parsons, Rector of Pulham, Dorset
Profile painted on convex glass in the ‘Etruscan’ style
1790
3 ½ x 2 ¾ in./90 x 70mm.
Frame: square, hammered brass
The Reverend J. Parsons, Rector of Pulham, Dorset
Profile painted on convex glass in the ‘Etruscan’ style
1790
3 ½ x 2 ¾ in./90 x 70mm.
Frame: square, hammered brass
Inscribed on the front, ‘Mr. Spornberg invenit, Bath’; on the reverse, ‘Mr. Spornberg invenit No. 5, Lower Church Street, Bath, 1790.’
M. A. H. Christie collection
1569
Unknown man
Profile painted on convex glass in the ‘Etruscan’ style
c. 1792
3 ½ x 2 ¾ in./90 x 70mm.
Frame: square, hammered brass
Unknown man
Profile painted on convex glass in the ‘Etruscan’ style
c. 1792
3 ½ x 2 ¾ in./90 x 70mm.
Frame: square, hammered brass
Inscribed, ‘Mr. Spornberg invenit, Bath.’
Author’s collection
1570
Unknown man
Profile painted on convex glass in the ‘Etruscan’ style
1792
3 ½ x 2 ¾ in./90 x 70mm.
Frame: pearwood
Unknown man
Profile painted on convex glass in the ‘Etruscan’ style
1792
3 ½ x 2 ¾ in./90 x 70mm.
Frame: pearwood
Inscribed, ‘Spornberg invenit, Bath 1792.’ The use of a pearwood frame is unusual for Spornberg.
M. A. H. Christie collection
1571
Unknown man
Profile painted on convex glass in the ‘Etruscan’ style
1792
3 ½ x 2 ¾ in./90 x 70mm.
Unknown man
Profile painted on convex glass in the ‘Etruscan’ style
1792
3 ½ x 2 ¾ in./90 x 70mm.
Inscribed, ‘Mr. Spornberg invenit Bath, 1792.’
Author’s collection
1572
The Reverend Antony Pye
Profile painted on convex glass in the ‘Etruscan’ style
1793
3 ½ x 2 ½ in./90 x 64mm.
The Reverend Antony Pye
Profile painted on convex glass in the ‘Etruscan’ style
1793
3 ½ x 2 ½ in./90 x 64mm.
Inscribed, ‘Mr. Spornberg invenit Bath 1793’. The sitter was Fellow of Merton College, Oxford.
Author’s collection
1573
Christopher Anstey and his wife Ann
Double profile painted on convex glass in the ‘Etruscan’ style
1793
3 ¼ x 4 ¼ in./83 x 109mm.
Frame: giltwood, with border on the glass in the Greek style
Christopher Anstey and his wife Ann
Double profile painted on convex glass in the ‘Etruscan’ style
1793
3 ¼ x 4 ¼ in./83 x 109mm.
Frame: giltwood, with border on the glass in the Greek style
Inscribed, ‘Mr. Spornberg invenit, N 5, Lower Church Street, Bath, 1793.’
Holborne of Menstrie Museum, Bath, No. 207
1574
Unknown man
Profile painted on convex glass in the ‘Etruscan’ style
1800
2 ¾ x 2 ½ in./70 x 64mm.
Frame: oval, gitlwood, with scroll surround on the glass
Unknown man
Profile painted on convex glass in the ‘Etruscan’ style
1800
2 ¾ x 2 ½ in./70 x 64mm.
Frame: oval, gitlwood, with scroll surround on the glass
Inscribed, ‘Spornberg invenit and fecit, Bath, 1800.’ Painted at 1 Union Passage.
Author’s collection
1575
John Sheldon, Professor of Anatomy at the Royal Academy
Profile painted on convex glass in the ‘Etruscan’ style
1802
3 ½ x 2 ¾ in./90 x 70mm.
Frame: rectangular, hammered brass
John Sheldon, Professor of Anatomy at the Royal Academy
Profile painted on convex glass in the ‘Etruscan’ style
1802
3 ½ x 2 ¾ in./90 x 70mm.
Frame: rectangular, hammered brass
Inscribed on the front ‘mr. Spornberg, Bath;’ on the reverse, ‘For Miss Adams/John Sheldon/Professor of Anatomy in the Royal Academy/1802. Died Oct. 5th 1815, aged 55.’ There is a memorial tablet to Sheldon at Combe Raleigh Church, near Honiton, Devon.
M. A. H. Christie collection
1576
Laetitia, Baroness con Feilitzsch
Profile painted on convex glass in the ‘Etruscan’ style
c. 1806
2 ½ x 2 ¼ in./64 x 58mm.
Frame: papier mâché
Laetitia, Baroness con Feilitzsch
Profile painted on convex glass in the ‘Etruscan’ style
c. 1806
2 ½ x 2 ¼ in./64 x 58mm.
Frame: papier mâché
Inscribed, ‘Spornberg N. 5, Bond St/Bath.’
Major and Mrs J. H. Puxley collection
1577
John Archer Houblon
Profile painted on convex glass in the ‘Etruscan’ style
c. 1807-1808
2 ½ x 2 ¼ in./64 x 58mm.
Frame: papier mâché
John Archer Houblon
Profile painted on convex glass in the ‘Etruscan’ style
c. 1807-1808
2 ½ x 2 ¼ in./64 x 58mm.
Frame: papier mâché
Inscribed, ‘Spornberg fecit N 5, Bond St. Bath.’ John Archer Houblon, the son of Jacob Houblon IX, was born at Hallingbury, Essex, in 1773. A silhouette of him as a small boy, taken by Mrs Sarah Harrington in 1778, is illustrated in 228. He was Member of Parliament for Essex in 1810, and 1812-20. In 1797 he married Mary Anne, elder daughter of Thomas Berney Bramston, of Skreens, Essex. He died in 1831.
By courtesy of Major and Mrs J. H. Puxley
1578
Mrs John Archer Houblon
Profile painted on convex glass in the ‘Etruscan’ style
1813
2 ½ x 2 ¼ in./64 x 58mm.
Frame: papier mâché
Mrs John Archer Houblon
Profile painted on convex glass in the ‘Etruscan’ style
1813
2 ½ x 2 ¼ in./64 x 58mm.
Frame: papier mâché
Inscribed, below the atypical squared-off bust-line, ‘Spornberg invenit & fecit, Bath, A. D. 1813.’ This is Spornberg’s latest known profile in the ‘Etruscan’ style.
By courtesy of Major and Mrs J. H. Puxley
1579
Unknown baby
Profile painted on card
1800
3 x 2 ½ in./77 x 64mm.
Frame: papier mâché, with convex glass
Unknown baby
Profile painted on card
1800
3 x 2 ½ in./77 x 64mm.
Frame: papier mâché, with convex glass
Inscribed on the reverse, ‘J. Spornberg, Inventor of the Etruscan profile,’ with the date.
R. Kilner collection
1580
Unknown child, probably a boy
Profile painted on card
1800
3 x 2 ½ in./77 x 64mm.
Frame: papier mâché, with convex glass
Unknown child, probably a boy
Profile painted on card
1800
3 x 2 ½ in./77 x 64mm.
Frame: papier mâché, with convex glass
Inscribed on the reverse, ‘J. Spornberg, Inventor of the Etruscan profile,’ with the date.
R. Kilner collection
1581
Locket, containing a profile of an unknown man, painted on glass in the ‘Etruscan’ style by Jacob Spornberg, early 1800s.
2 x 1½ in./51 x 39mm.
Inscribed, ‘Mr. Spornberg fecit, Bath.’
Locket, containing a profile of an unknown man, painted on glass in the ‘Etruscan’ style by Jacob Spornberg, early 1800s.
2 x 1½ in./51 x 39mm.
Inscribed, ‘Mr. Spornberg fecit, Bath.’
J. A. Pollak collection
1582
Sir Digby Mackworth, of Gnoll Castle, Glamorgan
Profile painted on ivory en grisaille
1804
3 ½ x 2 ¾ in./90 x 70mm.
Sir Digby Mackworth, of Gnoll Castle, Glamorgan
Profile painted on ivory en grisaille
1804
3 ½ x 2 ¾ in./90 x 70mm.
Signed, with the date, below the bust-line in a back line, which gives a three-dimensional effect.
Victoria Art Gallery, Bath
1583
Inscription of Jacob Spornberg, from the reverse of the silhouette illustrated in 1198.
Inscription of Jacob Spornberg, from the reverse of the silhouette illustrated in 1198.
Author’s collection
1584
Inscription of Jacob Spornberg, from the reverse of a profile painted on convex glass in the ‘Etruscan’ style.
Inscription of Jacob Spornberg, from the reverse of a profile painted on convex glass in the ‘Etruscan’ style.
By courtesy of Major and Mrs J. H. Puxley
1585
Inscription of Jacob Spornberg, from the reverse of a profile illustrated in 1568.
Inscription of Jacob Spornberg, from the reverse of a profile illustrated in 1568.
M. A. H. Christie collection
1586
Typical inscription of Jacob Spornberg, from the foot of the oval of a profile (1569) painted on convex glass in the ‘Etruscan’ style.
Typical inscription of Jacob Spornberg, from the foot of the oval of a profile (1569) painted on convex glass in the ‘Etruscan’ style.
Author’s collection