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The piece that I selected to focus on during my trip to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, was one that caught my attention as I was moving from room to room. The sculpture sat in the recesses of an angular foyer. The soft lines of this piece coupled with the shadows that were cast from the ambient lighting allowed me to see its apparent beauty. There was very little displayed as an explanation for this piece entitled, “Latona and Her Children, Apollo and Diana.” The artist is William Henry Rinehart who was born in 1825 and died in 1874. He sculpted this piece in 1874 out of marble; however, another version was done in 1870. Though, the museum did not display much about the piece, I found that it represents the mother love with her children.
There were other sculptures done with Latona and her children as the subjects. The first ones were done in the 1600’s. The first artist to use Latona and her children as subjects was Gaspard Marsay. He was commissioned to create a fountain for the Palace of Versailles by King Louis XIV. Apparently King Louis was enthralled by the mythological story of Latona and found parraleles between her story and his.
Latona, a mythological figure, was said to be the first wife or possibly the mistress of Jupiter, the king of the gods. Jupiter married Juno, and Juno found herself very jealous of Latona and her children. Once Jupiter was married, Latona and her children had to find a place where they could establish for themselves. On their journey, Latona and her children became very thirsty and when they came across a lake, Juno muddied the waters so they could not drink from it. Jupiter found out about this misdeed against his mistress and knew that he could not punish her since she was his wife. In his quest to show honor to his mistress, he turned Juno’s informants into frogs. It’s said that King Louis had a mistress and erected a sculpture of Latona and her children in his palace courtyard, to warn his countrymen of their punishment if they were ever to harm his own mistress.
This particular sculpture of Latona and her children shows the peace and ease of this life. Latona’s facial expression seems pleasant and she seems to delight in her children sleeping close by. The children seem to have no worries, and I can imagine that they did not want for anything as the children of the king of the gods, Jupiter. The structure of the sculpture is made of marble which allows for the smooth lines of this piece. The Grecian draping that is sculpted as clothes are distinct and portrays a lightness of the fabric. Rinehart captured the facial expressions of all three subjects and made the body figures very realistic. The medium lended itself to creating the smoothness of skin.
The most fascinating thing that pulled me into this piece was the positioning of the two children. The children are wrapped in each other in their mother’s lap. They seem so at ease, and the boy who is reclining seems to holding his sister on his own lap. This positioning made me think of my niece and nephew who are close in age. The older one, the boy, is very vigilant with his sister, and my niece depends on him for the security and surety that he provides. The artist does a great job of communicating that to the viewer.
There were other sculptures done with Latona and her children as the subjects. The first ones were done in the 1600’s. The first artist to use Latona and her children as subjects was Gaspard Marsay. He was commissioned to create a fountain for the Palace of Versailles by King Louis XIV. Apparently King Louis was enthralled by the mythological story of Latona and found parraleles between her story and his.
Latona, a mythological figure, was said to be the first wife or possibly the mistress of Jupiter, the king of the gods. Jupiter married Juno, and Juno found herself very jealous of Latona and her children. Once Jupiter was married, Latona and her children had to find a place where they could establish for themselves. On their journey, Latona and her children became very thirsty and when they came across a lake, Juno muddied the waters so they could not drink from it. Jupiter found out about this misdeed against his mistress and knew that he could not punish her since she was his wife. In his quest to show honor to his mistress, he turned Juno’s informants into frogs. It’s said that King Louis had a mistress and erected a sculpture of Latona and her children in his palace courtyard, to warn his countrymen of their punishment if they were ever to harm his own mistress.
This particular sculpture of Latona and her children shows the peace and ease of this life. Latona’s facial expression seems pleasant and she seems to delight in her children sleeping close by. The children seem to have no worries, and I can imagine that they did not want for anything as the children of the king of the gods, Jupiter. The structure of the sculpture is made of marble which allows for the smooth lines of this piece. The Grecian draping that is sculpted as clothes are distinct and portrays a lightness of the fabric. Rinehart captured the facial expressions of all three subjects and made the body figures very realistic. The medium lended itself to creating the smoothness of skin.
The most fascinating thing that pulled me into this piece was the positioning of the two children. The children are wrapped in each other in their mother’s lap. They seem so at ease, and the boy who is reclining seems to holding his sister on his own lap. This positioning made me think of my niece and nephew who are close in age. The older one, the boy, is very vigilant with his sister, and my niece depends on him for the security and surety that he provides. The artist does a great job of communicating that to the viewer.
Beautiful photographs, Genese... well done!
ReplyDeleteThis is a very good start.... You have 583 words which is a bit short.... you did a good job of responding personally to the piece and in looking up the background story of Latona and Jupiter.
Three more paragraphs would bring this up to a good point...
1. Who was William Henry Rinehart? (this will provide you with enough information: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Henry_Rinehart )
2. What was neo-classicism? What are its dates? How long did it last? What were its aims?
3. What about the Met itself? Tell us about the museum... (did you know that it is the largest art museum in the world?)
You can write well! It is easy to click the edit your post and add to it by going to your dashboard and clicking edit post.
Thanks Jerry! Will do.
ReplyDelete