The Angel's Whisper

This piece was sculpted after a poem by Samuel Lover. The poem is about an ancient Irish belief stating that when a child smiles in his sleep it's because he is talking to an angel. The sculptor passionate of Neoclassicism and close friend with John Gibson. From this artist, one of the greatest at the time, Spence borrowed technique of smoothly sculpting bodies and the great use of light. The details do not miss in this piece and are especially accentuated in the angel's hair and crown of flowers. The angel gently whispers in the child's ear who is extremely delicately modelled by Spencer. This piece of art was commissioned by an important Liverpool merchant while he was in Italy.