Persephone (sculpture)
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| Persephone | |
|---|---|
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 | |
| Artist | Armand Toussaint |
| Year | ca. 1840 |
| Type | Bronze |
| Dimensions | 160 cm × 56 cm × 41 cm (63 in × 22 in × 16 in) |
| Location | Butler University, Indianapolis, Indiana, United States |
| 39°50′43″N 86°10′12″W / 39.845301°N 86.169994°W | |
| Owner | Butler University |
Persephone is an outdoor sculpture by artist Armand Toussaint created c. 1840. The work sits within the center of a pool in Holcomb Gardens on the grounds of Butler University in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. The sculpture depicts the Greek goddess Persephone. In 1993 the sculpture was examined by the Save Outdoor Sculpture! program produced by the Smithsonian Institution.[1]
Persephone depicts the Greek goddess Persephone standing on a limestone base in the center of a concrete octagonal pool. The bronze female figure is draped from the waist down. Her left hand is raised and holds a lit torch of bundled twigs. An inscription on the statue base reads on the left statue base:[1]
- AD TOUSSAINT
- SCULPTEUR
The right side of the base is inscribed:
- GRAUX-MARLY
- FABT DE BRONZES
The front of the base is inscribed just before a 1950 founders mark:
- PERSEPHONE
- IN ANCIENT GREEK MYTHOLO-
- GY, SHE, AS THE DAUGHTER
- OF ZEUS AND DEMETER, WAS
- WORSHIPPED AS THE GODDESS
- OF VEGETATION, RETURNING
- EACH SPRING FROM THE REALM
- OF HADES TO HERALD THE
- SEASON OF GROWTH, AND IN
- WINTER DISAPPEARING TO PASS
- HER TIME, LIKE THE SEED,
- UNDER THE EARTH. THE STATUE
- WAS EXECUTED IN PARIS ABOUT
- 1840 BY ARMAND TOUSSAINT,
- 1806-1862. A GIFT OF JAMES
- IRVING HOLCOMB[1]
Acquisition
The sculpture was made in France and was originally located at the Swift estate in Chicago, Illinois. It was purchased by J. I. Holcomb in 1950[2] and installed at the gardens.[1]
Creation
The piece was primarily crafted by sculptor Armand Toussaint and cast by Graux-Marly. J.I. Holcomb and Arthur Lindberg were the landscape architects for its placement at Holcomb Gardens. [1]
