HUGIJENOT ARTISTS DESIGNERS AND CRAYPSNEN IN GREAT ...

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Other vestiges of R0ubiliac's studio include three terracotta
studies of hands now in the Victoria and Albert Museum. One, a right
hand, holds a pole and is resting on two books, and the others are
careful studies of a left hand and a right hand, without extra props.
The sensitivity and subtlety of their modelling makes their attribution
to Roubiliac plausible. A careful study of the work of Roubiliac's
contemporaries at the St.Martin's Lane Academy reveals the use of
similar devices. This is most notably apparent in the work of Francis
Hayman, in which the doll-like features of many of his portraits
betray an over reliance on the layman, as opposed to working from the
life.
The St.Martin's Lane Academy under Hayman, Gravelot and Roubiliac
provided ideal opportunities for the interconnection of the fine and
applied arts. Designs by Gravelot and Moser survive for a wide range
of decorative objects, and it has been proved that Poubiliac also
produced models for the decorative arts, for porcelain, for bronzes,
and most probably for silver. It is therefore no surprise, to find
Hayman painting a classical bust in the background. of a gentleman's
portrait; Gravelot designing a statue in a niche (Plate 71) and Roubiliac
painting a copy of the Chandos portrait of Shakespeare. (Plate 8k).
The main contribution of the Huguenots Louis Chron and L.F.
Poubiliac lay in their ability to communicate the tradition of the
French Academy of Painting and Sculpture, on the one hand, and their
emphasis on the interconnection of the different fine and applied arts,
on the other hand. This contribution was combined with a sense of
responsibility and a conscientiousness which was part of the Huguenot
ethic.