Jael

Jael

ca. 1862 · Model

Sulla scultura

Between 1862 and 1865 Stevens was engaged in producing designs for the proposed redecoration of St Paul's Cathedral, London, a project that failed to come to fruition. The Museum has a number of models relating to this commission. This figure of Jael is one of a group intended for the proposed decoration of the Cathedral's dome. Jael holds a heavy mallet, a reference to the part she played in aiding the Israelites. In one battle between the Israelites and the Canaanites of Hazor in the Valley of Jezreel, the Canaanites were clearly losing and their commander, Sisera, fled, seeking refuge in Jael's tent. But she was a supporter of the Israelites. Sisera fell asleep following a drink Jael had given him, and she then picked up her mallet and pounded a tent peg through his head in order to kill him. The plaster model for this cast is also in the Museum (inv. no. A85-1911).

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A sculptor, designer and painter, Alfred Stevens (1817/18-1875) rejected contemporary distinctions between fine art and design. From 1850 to 1857 he was chief designer to Hoole & Co., Sheffield, where he produced award-winning designs for metalwork, majolica, terracotta ornaments and chimney-pieces. Perhaps his two greatest works were the decorations for the dining-room at Dorchester House, London (about 1856), for which he made countless drawings inspired by the Italian High Renaissance style, in particular the work of Michelangelo and the monument to the Duke of Wellington for St Paul's Cathedral, London, which was completed after his death. The two allegorical groups from this monument made a lasting impact on the New Sculpture movement.

The influence of the Italian Renaissance is evident in much of Steven's work, and is perhaps best reflected in the Wellington monument.

Victoria and Albert Museum