Funeral torch
c. 1720
Italy
Gilded and painted wood and wrought iron
79.5
A funerary torch is a symbol of life in a ritual commemorating death. This torch would have accompanied a catafalque: a large, architectural structure that displays the coffin of an important person in catholic funeral rites. Catafalques were used primarily in catholic European cities from the 16th to 19th centuries, though they are still used on occasion for large, public funeral rituals, such as those for the pope.
The presence of a torch as a symbol of life, though seemingly contradictory to a funerary setting, visually reinforces the idea of resurrection held sacred in Catholic beliefs about death. The complex relationship between life and death is repeated consistently throughout the decoration of this torch. The pomegranate motif on the top tier of the torch is a symbol for Christ’s resurrection. On the shaft of the torch, a gilded skeleton with ornate, feathered wings - an angel of death- entwines around arabesque curves; a dance in which life and death exist harmoniously together.
Ganymede and the Eagle
Bertel Thorvaldsen
1817–29
Denmark
Marble
66.9
In Greek mythology, Ganymede was cupbearer to the gods, serving them with nectar and ambrosia. As a young prince of Troy, he was abducted by Zeus, ruler of the gods, and carried off to Mount Olympus, the gods’ home, where he became immortal.
An admirer of Greek and Roman art, Bertel Thorvaldsen was one of the foremost neoclassical sculptors of the 1800s. At the age of only eleven, he was accepted into the Royal Danish Academy of Art. In 1797 the excellence of his artwork earned him a royal stipend that enabled him to study in Rome, where he spent a large part of his career.
Hebe and the Eagle of Jupiter
François Rude; Caster: Thièbaut Frères
model c. 1853-55 (casting history and edition size unknown)
Bronze
69.21
François Rude studied in Paris and Dijon, France before being exiled to Brussels for his ardent support of Napoleon Bonaparte. He did not return to France until twelve years after the fall of the Empire. Although inspired by the poses of antique sculpture, Rude depicted his subjects with delicacy and emotion rather than with classical restraint. He is best known for his figure of The Genius of Liberty, called The Marseillaise, which is the central figure of the Arc de Triomphe in Paris that he completed in 1836.
Kiss of Victory
Sir Alfred Gilbert
1878–1881
England
Marble, wooden base
76.32
Alfred Gilbert's commemorative sculpture "Kiss of Victory" shows a Roman legionary fallen in battle and embraced at the moment of death by the genius or spirit of victory. It is possible that Gilbert began the work as a private memorial to his brother Gordon who had died only months before Gilbert started working on the sculpture. It was designed in Paris, where Gilbert studied at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts. On the encouragement of his professor, Pierre-Jules Cavelier, Gilbert traveled to Rome, where he executed the sculpture in marble.
"Kiss of Victory" was commissioned by Somerset Beaumont (1835-1921), one of Gilbert's most loyal patrons and friends throughout his career. As a private commission, the sculpture was intended to be seen close up in an intimate space such as a drawing room or entrance hall.
Little Dancer, Aged Fourteen
Edgar Degas
1878-1881 Bronze, Airandor-Valsuani cast, 1998
French, 1834-1917
Marie van Goethem, the model for this sculpture, was a novice at the Paris Ballet, where inexperienced dancers like her were given the unglamorous nickname "rats." Edgar Degas was a sympathetic chronicler of the daily life of ballet dancers, and was always searching for new ways to depict movement and form. With a pencil or pastel crayon, he quickly captured fleeting moments onstage or in rehearsal. This bronze was cast from a plaster version of Degas' original colored-wax sculpture, which caused a sensation when it debuted-dressed in real ballet slippers, tutu, and bodice- at the 1881 Impressionist exhibition. Some critics called the sculpture "hideously ugly." while others praised its realistic depiction of a teenage girl.
Nautilus shell cup
c. 1660-1680
Germany
Nautilus shell, silver, parcel-gilt
2011.28
Nautilus shells, which came to Europe from the Indo-Pacific Ocean, were often mounted with precious silver ornaments in the 1500s and 1600s. Mathematicians were fascinated by the fact that their interior chambers follow a regular logarithm. A rare and exotic specimen of nature combined with outstanding craftsmanship in precious metal is emblematic of the works that were collected in the early modern ‘chambers of art and wonder’, the common predecessor of museums of natural history and art. The Nautilus Cup combines the Biblical narrative of Jonah (being spit out of the fish’s mouth) with figures of ancient mythology such as the cupid (who rides on top of the fish) and Neptune, the god of the Sea (who forms the stem). Combining these diverse fields of knowledge, the artist celebrates the element of water, which is the Nautilus shell’s natural environment.
Psyche Abandoned
Augustin Pajou; Caster: Possibly Pierre-Philippe Thomire
c. 1800
French
Bronze
74.24a,b
In 1783, sculptor Augustin Pajou was commissioned to execute a sculpture for the entrance of the Salle des Antiques in Paris that would serve as a pendant piece to Cupid Carving a Bow from Hercules’ Club by Edme Bouchardon (1698-1762). Pajou's plaster model of the nymph Psyche, depicted as having just been abandoned by Cupid, created a scandal at the Salon of 1785, where its nudity was considered to be licentious. The work was withdrawn from the exhibition, but Pajou's life-size version in marble earned great critical acclaim when completed in 1790. Pajou subsequently modeled two terra-cotta statuettes based upon the popular sculpture, as well as bronze reductions.
Saint Raphael with Tobias, His Dog, and the Fish
Giuseppe Sanmartino
c. 1780
Italian
Silver, gilt bronze
2015.24.1
Tobias, a young Jewish man, has been sent by his blind father to retrieve money left with a relative. Accompanying him on the journey are his dog and a hired guide who, unbeknownst to him, is the archangel Raphael. When they reach the Tigris River, Tobias is attacked by a monstrous fish. Raphael tells him to catch it and preserve its innards as medicines. Tobias later burns the heart and liver to free his future wife from a demon and uses the gall (bile) to cure his father’s blindness. The lively dog appears in other works by Sanmartino—it may have been the artist’s own pet.
Tazza
c. 1587–1599
GIlded silver
Netherlands
75.54
This tazza is from a set of twelve made for display on a sideboard. The ornamental imagery was inspired by the Lives of the Caesars, a second century a.d. book in every Renaissance library that describes the lives of the first twelve Roman emperors. Each tazza featured a different emperor rising from the center, with events of his reign depicted around the inside of the bowl. The set was dismantled in the late 19th century, then incorrectly reassembled by a Parisian antiques dealer. As a result, the Institute's tazza combines Augustus's portrait with scenes from the life of Caligula. This example is sometimes called the Aldobrandini tazza after one of its early owners, Cardinal Ippolito Aldobrandini, who became Pope Clement VIII in 1592.
The Archangel Saint Michael in Triumph
Giuseppe Sanmartino
c. 1780
Italian
Silver, gilt bronze
2015.24.2
The image of Saint Michael killing a dragon comes from the description of an epic battle between good and evil found in Revelation, the last book of the Christian Bible: “And war broke out in heaven; Michael and his angels fought against the dragon. . . . The great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the Devil and Satan.” The inscription Quis ut deus (Who is like God') on the shield is a Latin translation of the saint’s Hebrew name, Mîkhā'ēl.
Giuseppe Sanmartino was known for dramatic and technically complex depictions of religious subjects. For Saint Michael and Saint Raphael, he collaborated with silversmiths, who spent long hours polishing, punching, and chasing the expanses of metal. Chasing involves the use of hammers and punches to create sharper surface details and textures, as in the feathers of Saint Michael’s wings.
Veiled Lady
Raffaelo Monti
c. 1860
Italian
Marble
70.60
We can’t see through stone, but through tricks of light and polish, Raffaelo Monti created the illusion that we can. On his Veiled Lady, the top of the head and shoulders are polished smooth, to reflect light. But where the veil falls across the face, the marble is less polished. It reflects less light, suggesting the texture of fabric. Sculptures of veiled figures peaked in popularity during the 1700s in Italy, an opportunity for sculptors to show their technical mastery over marble. About a century later, Raffaelo Monti and other artists revived this technically demanding tradition.
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