Two Marys (Empyrean Children)

Copied William Zorach, Two Marys (Empyrean Children), 1960, cast and patinated plaster, 8 145 784 58 in. (2114.911.8 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Tessim Zorach and Dahlov Ipcar, 1968.154.133

Artwork Details

Title
Two Marys (Empyrean Children)
Date
1960
Dimensions
8 145 784 58 in. (2114.911.8 cm)
Credit Line
Gift of Tessim Zorach and Dahlov Ipcar
Mediums
Mediums Description
cast and patinated plaster
Classifications
Keywords
  • Allegory — religion
  • Figure group — female — nude
Object Number
1968.154.133

Artwork Description

The two Marys, the Virgin Mary and Mary Magdalene, are often regarded as the most important women in the Christian faith. William Zorach sculpted the two women with the infant Jesus to show the integral parts they both played in Jesus’s life. Zorach created many compositions that emphasized the bond between mother and child, and here he left no space between the figures, creating an inseparable group in which both women wrap themselves protectively around the young boy.