Label Text:
The awkward uncertainty of adolescence is emphasized in this small sculpture by a prominent member of the New Sculpture movement in England. Poised at the brink of adulthood, the figure holds out her offerings to Hymen—the ancient Greek god of marriage. A branch of hawthorn is presented in her right hand while her left contains a miniature statue of Anteros—the god of reciprocal love. Gilbert’s piece is contextualized by the expectations of the Victorian era, a time when early marriage was common if not expected. This sculpture asks you to share the uncertainty of a young girl venturing into adulthood and to consider the uneasiness that accompanies her transition. What conflicts or outside forces might she face in the future?
-Eva Fahey (Class of 2017), University of Massachusetts Amherst
A Very Long Engagement: Nineteenth-Century Sculpture and Its Afterlives (July 29, 2017 - May 27, 2018)
Link to share this object record:
https://museums.fivecolleges.edu/detail.php?t=objects&type=ext&id_number=MH+1985.24 |
