Early 20th century Belle Époque sculpture

Belle Époque sculpture from the beginning of the 20th century.
"The summer".
Carrara marble.
Measurements: 185 x 55 x 40 cm; 80 x 60 x 60 x 60 cm (base).

The summer has been transfigured in this Belle Époque sculpture in a feminine image whose beauty seems to have been subtracted from the course of events. Her eternal pulse, however, coexists with the rootedness to a place and a time. The young woman, holding short cuts of ears of wheat, can be identified with Ceres, goddess of agriculture in classical mythology. The slender canon, agile and sensual (the young woman shows her breasts uncovered), follows the beauty ideals of Antiquity. Likewise, the carver skillfully reinterprets the technique of wet drapery, so that the fine fabric adheres to the body modeling it while draping naturally where the limbs are folded in graceful gestures.

The representation of allegorical figures of the four seasons originated in the Carrara marble workshops, an iconography that reached its peak during neoclassicism. Among the recurring themes produced by the Carrara workshops were a series of allegorical figures, reiterated from defined models: "the parts of the world", the usual denomination for the representation of the continents and "the seasons". Totally individualized, the figures were conceived to be placed on balustrades, patios or ornamental niches.