Description:
over life-size nude heavyset female figure with one arm bent and hand near face standing on toes; woman; nude
Label Text:
"At twenty, in Paris, I met a young American person who immediately became the primary inspiration which awakened my vision and the leading influence that has directed my forces. Throughout my career, as an artist, I refer to this person by the word "Woman." Gaston Lachaise
The "Woman" who was to be Lachaise's lifelong muse was Isabel Dutard Nagel. Lachaise followed her back to America from France, establishing himself as a sculptor of portrait busts of prominent members of society. His preferred subject, however, was the female form.
"Garden Figure", cast after the artist's death, epitomizes Lachaise's passionate, single-minded pursuit of female beauty. The simplified lines of the figure are like those of his modernist contemporaries. Yet, the gesture of the hand under the breast is reminiscent of pre-classical goddess statues. This sculpture simultaneously embodies the nurturing and erotic qualities of femininity, a modern interpretation of the ancient mother goddess.
Tags:
women; nudes Link to share this object record:
https://museums.fivecolleges.edu/detail.php?t=objects&type=ext&id_number=SC+1982.22 |
