Hiram PowersAmerican, 1805–1873Ginevra
May one see it?
Not receiving at present
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
About the sculpture
This statue depicts the title character of the poem “Ginevra,” from the 1822 book Italy by the English poet Samuel Rogers. In the poem, 15-year-old Ginevra disappears on her wedding night; her remains are discovered 50 years later in a chest, where she had hidden as a prank and accidentally trapped herself. Tragic literary heroines were popular subjects for 19th-century sculptors and painters because they appealed to the melodramatic and moralistic sensibilities of Victorian society. Two other works, Elaine (1917.3) by Toby Rosenthal and Nydia, The Blind Flower Girl of Pompeii (1896.77) by Randolph Rogers, more explicitly express similar themes. Hiram Powers presented Ginevra with a paucity of narrative details, however, with only the title offering evidence of her identity.
Art Institute of ChicagoCC BY 4.0
Particulars
- Accession number
- 1972.803
What it shows
In the catalog
Sources
- Art Institute of Chicago
- Image: Art Institute of Chicago — CC0
