La Penserosa
Hiram Powers
American, 1805–1873

Details
Title
La Penserosa
Artist/Maker
Hiram Powers (American, 1805–1873)
Date
1856
Medium
Marble
Dimensions
74 1/2 x 21 3/8 x 39 inches
Credit
Gift of the West Foundation in honor of Gudmund Vigtel and Michael E. Shapiro
Accession #
2010.82
Hiram Powers based this figure on the allegorical character of Melancholy in John Milton’s 1862 poem Il Penseroso (The Thinker) but selected a female personification to show the light and dark of the melancholic state of mind. Best known for his elegant nudes, Powers admitted to having struggled with La Penserosa’s detailed drapery. He pursued the subject as a commission for New York philanthropist and art collector James Lenox, who was eager to have Powers render this theme.
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