Two views of the bust of William Makepeace Thackeray, by Baron Marochetti, 1865. White marble, seen on the left on its brown marble base, and on the right, from a slightly different angle, with the background digitally removed. The bust is in Poet's Corner, at Westminster Abbey, London.
Marochetti and Thackeray were neighbours in Onslow Square, Kensington, and Marochetti's studio was just behind their houses. The two families became friends, and Marochetti was among the many artists who attended Thackeray's funeral at Kensal Green Cemetery. He was the ideal choice of sculptor for this memorial bust. Yet perhaps it is not one of his best works. Thackeray had known more than his share of suffering, but it is hard to glimpse in this set face the personality of the man described by Trollope as "one of the most tender-hearted human beings I ever knew" (169).
Photograph on left (2021) by Laurence Cooke (2021); photograph on right (2011), caption and commentary by Jacqueline Banerjee. You may use these images without prior permission for any scholarly or educational purpose as long as you (1) credit the photographer and (2) link your document to this UR, or credit it in a print document. [Click on both the images to enlarge them.]
Related Material
Bibliography
"History: William Makepeace Thackeray." Westminster Abbey offical site. Web. 17 Jan. 2011.
Trollope, Anthony. An Autobiography. London: Penguin, 1993.
Last modified 3 August 2021 (new photograph added)