Modern and Contemporary Art Pomona Modeled c. 1910; cast 1937 Aristide Maillol, French, 1861 - 1944. Bronze cast by the foundry Alexis Rudier, Paris, 1874 - 1952. Bronze Currently not on view 1959-150-1 Gift of R. Sturgis and Marion B. F. Ingersoll, 1959 |
LabelMaillol spent most of his life on the Mediterranean coast, deeply connected to the region’s Roman and Greek heritage. He upheld the elevated beauty of antique sculpture in his own work, balancing classical forms with a profound sensuality. Virgil was his great love: Maillol was known to recite the Eclogues from memory. In 1910, he began work on a sculpture of Pomona, the Roman goddess of orchards and abundance, so robust yet serene that she appears to have been plucked from Arcadia’s flourishing glades.ProvenanceWith Galerie Dina Vierny, Paris; sold to R. Sturgis Ingersoll (1891-1973), Philadelphia, April 20, 1955 [1]; gift of R. Sturgis and Marion B. F. Ingersoll to PMA, 1959. 1. Per letter from Ingersoll to Anne d'Harnoncourt, September 3, 1968, and letter from Vierny to Ingersoll, June 20, 1958 (PMA archives, copies in curatorial file). Vierny was Maillol's last model. |
