Title
Beatrice Cenci
1857
Artist
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Details
- Place where the work was made
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Rome
→
Italy
- Date
- 1857
- Media category
- Sculpture
- Materials used
- Marble
- Dimensions
- 44.1 x 106.3 x 43.8 cm (including base 7.9cm)
- Signature & date
Signed back of base, "HARRIET HOSMER...". Not dated.
- Credit
- Purchased 1892
- Location
- Not on display
- Accession number
- 1221
- Copyright
- Artist information
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Harriet Hosmer
Works in the collection
- Share
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About
Neoclassicism produced a significant number of women sculptors, many of whom were American by birth. Among them, Harriet Hosmer enjoyed perhaps the greatest celebrity, entertaining dignitaries and connoisseurs in her Roman atelier with the practical aplomb of a 'grand maître'.
The only pupil of leading English neoclassical sculptor John Gibson RA, Hosmer would become his equal, one of the finest sculptors of the 19th century, male or female. She adapted continental neoclassicism to a personal vision steeped in the classical philosophies of a democratic nation. Capable of producing work on a large scale and to specific order, she was especially proficient in the execution of public monuments. Her smaller works were frequently issued in multiples to accommodate demand. Among her most popular was 'Beatrice Cenci', which exists in several versions. Beatrice Cenci was a 16th century Roman noblewoman whose family tragedy saw her endure abuse and trauma before suffering the harshest of punishments when she fought back. -
Places
Where the work was made
Rome
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Exhibition history
Shown in 1 exhibition
Archie Plus, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 26 Sep 2020–07 Mar 2021
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Bibliography
Referenced in 4 publications
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Renée Free, Art Gallery of New South Wales handbook, 'European', pg. 36-56, Sydney, 1988, 39.
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Bruce James, Art Gallery of New South Wales handbook, 'Western Collection: Paintings and Sculpture', pg. 17-77, Sydney, 1999, 36 (colour illus.).
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R. Parker and Griselda Pollock, Old mistresses: women, art and idealogy.
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Margaret Wendell LaBarre, Harriet Hosmer: her era and her art, 1961-1966.
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