The Sleeping Faun

The Sleeping Faun

modeled 1864, carved c. 1870

sculptor

Harriet Goodhue Hosmer

(American, 1830–1908)

Marble

Overall: 127 cm (50 in.)

Weight: 1500 lbs. crated upon arrival at CMA

Leonard C. Hanna, Jr. Fund 1997.15

Did you know?

Hosmer said, "I honor every woman who has strength enough to step out of the beaten path. . . ."

Description

Hosmer is the best known female member of a large group of American artists working in Italy during the mid-1800s. The Sleeping Faun, a depiction of a pointed-eared woodland spirit, demonstrates her mastery of the neoclassical style, which was inspired by the art of ancient Greece and Rome. Hosmer’s playful sense of humor infuses the composition: a half-human, half-goat satyr mischievously ties the unwitting faun’s animal skin garment to a tree stump.

Video

What is this Mischievous Satyr up to?
Harriet Hosmer
American Artists in Rome
The Sleeping Faun
See also
Type of artwork: 
Sculpture
Medium: 
Marble

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