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This week: more art at the Wadsworth. For previous posts on the Wadsworth, click here.

Egyptian, Cat, ca. 3rd-1st c. BC

The goddess Bastet, represented in feline form, was associated by the Ancient Egyptians with childbirth and health. This small sculpture from the Ptolemaic Period was probably donated to a temple for the same reason Catholics light candles in church: in hopes that their prayers will be noted and answered. It made the cut for the blog post because I love the stylized curves of the ears, head, shoulders, and back.

Looking at this sculpture, I cannot help thinking of Elizabeth Peters’ character Amelia Peabody, an archeologist who adopted a cat and named it after one of the goddesses of Ancient Egypt. She and her family habitually referred to it as “the cat Bastet”.

Tang Dynasty, Bactrian Camel, 720-750

This ceramic camel was created for the tomb of a wealthy Chinese family during the Tang Dynasty (618-906). Like the Ancient Egyptians, the Chinese of the time believed that items placed in a tomb would be available for use of the deceased in the afterlife. This lively creature is saddled and loaded, prepared to join a caravan on the Silk Road heading west from China. The Silk Road brought to Europe silk, spices, paper, gunpowder, and more, and provided a route for cultural exchange.

Caravaggio, St. Francis of Assisi in Ecstasy, ca. 1595-1596

Caravaggio (1571-1610) lived wild and died young, but managed nevertheless to develop an innovation that changed the course of European painting. He uses it in this, his earliest known painting on a religious subject. Caravaggio has zoomed in, leaving most of the background very dark. That forcibly directs our attention to the two main figures. See Innovators in Painting, Chapter 26. For a sharp contrast – not better, not worse, but very different – see Bellini’s St. Francis (ca. 1480) at the Frick Collection. More on that in How to Analyze and Appreciate Painting.

Zurbaran, Saint Serapion, 1628

This early work by Francisco de Zurbaran (1598-1664) represents Serapion, who gave his life to liberate Christians in thirteenth-century North Africa. Rather than showing him dead or in agony (Serapion was crucified on an X-shaped cross), Zurbaran represents him with his habit pristine, and his head falling as if in slumber or death. To Caravaggio, Zurbaran owes the zoomed-in focus; to Leonardo, the spotlight on Serapion’s face (Innovators in Painting, Chapters 20 and 26); but Zurbaran’s work could not be confused with the work of either Leonardo or Caravaggio. Zurbaran’s consistently sharp, clear style reminds me of some works by Salvador Dali, e.g., Crucifixion (Corpus Hypercubus), 1954.

Gerome, Sarah Bernhardt, 1895

Jean-Léon Gérôme was one of those rare artists who could sculpt as well as paint – see, for example, his Pygmalion at the Metropolitan Museum. In this bust he represents his friend, the most famous actress of her time in dramatic roles, together with a small figure of Melpomene, the Greek muse of tragedy.

More

• In Getting More Enjoyment from Sculpture You Love, I demonstrate a method for looking at sculptures in detail, in depth, and on your own. Learn to enjoy your favorite sculptures more, and find new favorites. Available on Amazon print and Kindle formats.
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