ART WIKI
Female Figure, Nyamwezi, Early 20th century
Nyamwezi

Female Figure

Early 20th century · Sculpture

Can I see it?

Not on view at present

Where is “Female Figure” now? Collection: Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago. Not on view at present. Checked September 29, 2026.

Art Institute of Chicago

Chicago, United States

It belongs to the collection, but is not on display at present.

Checked
In this state since
Source
The museum
On the mapMuseum page

About the sculpture

The commanding size of this elongated figure differentiates it from other Nyamwezi figures in museum collections. It was made in seven pieces that can be assembled easily into an asymmetrical and off-balanced pose. Some hallmarks of Nyamwezi art are expressed in this sculpture, including unsettling references to crippling infirmity in the form of a goiter (an abnormal enlargement of the thyroid near the throat), awkwardly bent legs, knobby joints, and blocky feet.

Art Institute of ChicagoCC BY 4.0

Details

Accession number
2012.496

What it shows

SicknessRainWomanInitiationRitualHealing

In the catalog

SculptureWoodImpressionismModernism20th centuryNyamweziArts of AfricaTaboraTanzaniaAfrican ArtEastern and Southern Africa

Sources

On view at Art Institute of Chicago

Museum page
The Bedroom, Vincent van Gogh, 1889

Vincent van Gogh

The Bedroom, 1889

A Sunday on La Grande Jatte — 1884, Georges Seurat, 1884–86, border added 1888–89

Georges Seurat

A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte, 1884–86, border added 1888–89

Paris Street; Rainy Day, Gustave Caillebotte, 1877

Gustave Caillebotte

Paris Street; Rainy Day, 1877

Two Sisters (On the Terrace), Pierre-Auguste Renoir, 1881

Pierre-Auguste Renoir

Two Sisters (On the Terrace), 1881

The Basket of Apples, Paul Cézanne, c. 1893

Paul Cézanne

The Basket of Apples, c. 1893

Stacks of Wheat (End of Summer), Claude Monet, 1890–91

Claude Monet

Stacks of Wheat (End of Summer), 1890–91

American Gothic, Grant Wood, 1930

Grant Wood

American Gothic, 1930

Nighthawks, Edward Hopper, 1942

Edward Hopper

Nighthawks, 1942

On the same theme · Sickness

All works on the theme
Flavio da Silva After Asthma Attack, the Favela, Gordon Parks, 1961

Gordon Parks

Flavio da Silva After Asthma Attack, the Favela, 1961

Not on view · National Gallery of Art

Das Kranke Kind (The Sick Child), Lovis Corinth, 1918

Lovis Corinth

Das Kranke Kind (The Sick Child), 1918

Not on view · National Gallery of Art

Misery (La Misère), Albert Besnard, c. 1886

Albert Besnard

Misery (La Misère), c. 1886

Not on view · National Gallery of Art

Sickness (La Maladie), Albert Besnard, 1884

Albert Besnard

Sickness (La Maladie), 1884

Not on view · National Gallery of Art

Misery (La Misère), Albert Besnard, c. 1886

Albert Besnard

Misery (La Misère), c. 1886

Not on view · National Gallery of Art

Jackie, Milton Rogovin, 1986

Milton Rogovin

Jackie, 1986

Not on view · National Gallery of Art

Théodore Géricault on His Deathbed, Charles Emile Champmartin, 1824

Champmartin, Émile Callande de

Théodore Géricault on His Deathbed, 1824

Art Institute of Chicago

Allegory of Sickness, probably David Heschler, ca. 1640 - ca. 1650

probably David Heschler

Allegory of Sickness, ca. 1640 - ca. 1650

Victoria and Albert Museum