DOI Kapitel:
Chapter V The Statue of the Bust and the Ideal Figure
DOI Seite / Zitierlink:https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.65493#0159
AMERICAN SCULPTURE
117
kind of marble corolla, springing up
from a leafy marble base. The end-
ing of a bust, that is to say its base or
support, is always a question with the
sculptor, unless, like Houdon, he
chooses one type of base for all, or
unless, as Rodin in his marble por-
traits of women, he counts upon the
richly associative charm of the un-
achieved.
Since the time of Verocchio’s bust
of a woman with flowers in her hands,
many sculptors, for the sake of added
interest, a more vivid characterization,
or a more striking composition, have
attempted to show the hands as well as
the face of the person portrayed. In
this difficult undertaking, no modern
sculptor has succeeded better than Mr.
Niehaus, well-known for his imposing
monuments. His portrait bust of John
Quincy Adams Ward is not only a
work of distinguished realism, worthy
of the artist it represents; it is also a
THE IDEAL FIGURE
117
kind of marble corolla, springing up
from a leafy marble base. The end-
ing of a bust, that is to say its base or
support, is always a question with the
sculptor, unless, like Houdon, he
chooses one type of base for all, or
unless, as Rodin in his marble por-
traits of women, he counts upon the
richly associative charm of the un-
achieved.
Since the time of Verocchio’s bust
of a woman with flowers in her hands,
many sculptors, for the sake of added
interest, a more vivid characterization,
or a more striking composition, have
attempted to show the hands as well as
the face of the person portrayed. In
this difficult undertaking, no modern
sculptor has succeeded better than Mr.
Niehaus, well-known for his imposing
monuments. His portrait bust of John
Quincy Adams Ward is not only a
work of distinguished realism, worthy
of the artist it represents; it is also a
THE IDEAL FIGURE