Still Life with Bust of Dante
William Michael Harnett
American, 1848–1892

Details
Title
Still Life with Bust of Dante
Artist/Maker
William Michael Harnett (American, 1848–1892)
Date
1883
Medium
Oil on panel
Dimensions
10 5/16 x 13 13/16 inches
Credit
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. James M. Dyer and Mr. and Mrs. Truman Bragg in memory of Mrs. Mary Newcomb Bull and Robert Scott Newcomb
Accession #
64.27
In this jumble of old books and sheet music, William Michael Harnett illustrates moral and immoral behavior through careful literary juxtapositions. Most provocative is a pairing of Dante’s Divine Comedy, whose saintly Beatrice guides the search for salvation, with the scandalous Juliette, the Marquis de Sade’s lustful book about a young woman’s sexual improprieties. Such moralizing reflected an American preoccupation with social codes and conduct. Harnett animates the display with objects perched in unstable positions: the whole arrangement appears ready to collapse like a house of cards.
More from this Artist
Browse Related Artwork

Joseph Stella

Yasuo Kuniyoshi

William James Glackens

Robert Vickrey

Kwese Artist, Democratic Republic of the Congo

Wang Hing

Kuyu Artist, Democratic Republic of the Congo

Bembe Artist, Democratic Republic of the Congo

Emil Carlsen

Yaka Artist, Democratic Republic of the Congo