Ginevra

Copied Hiram Powers, Ginevra, modeled 1842, marble, 26 x 18 x 9 1⁄2 in. (66.0 x 45.7 x 24.1 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase in memory of Ralph Cross Johnson, 1968.155.65
Free to use

Artwork Details

Title
Ginevra
Artist
Date
modeled 1842
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
26 x 18 x 9 1⁄2 in. (66.0 x 45.7 x 24.1 cm)
Credit Line
Museum purchase in memory of Ralph Cross Johnson
Mediums
Mediums Description
marble
Classifications
Subjects
  • Literature — Shelley — Ginevra
  • Figure female — bust
Object Number
1968.155.65
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1968.155.65

Artwork Description

Hiram Powers began modeling the first version of Ginevra immediately after he arrived in Florence in the late 1830s. The name Ginevra was inspired by the poem Italy by Samuel Rogers, which tells the story of a young bride who vanished on her wedding night and was found dead in a chest more than fifty years later. The only way the body could be identified was by a ring bearing the bride’s name, Ginevra. Almost twenty years after the original bust was modeled, Powers created a second version while visiting his daughter in England.