William Zorach, Two Marys (Empyrean Children), 1960, cast and patinated plaster, 8 1⁄4 x 5 7⁄8 x 4 5⁄8 in. (21 x 14.9 x 11.8 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Tessim Zorach and Dahlov Ipcar, 1968.154.133
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Artwork Details
- Title
- Two Marys (Empyrean Children)
- Artist
- Date
- 1960
- Location
- Dimensions
- 8 1⁄4 x 5 7⁄8 x 4 5⁄8 in. (21 x 14.9 x 11.8 cm)
- Credit Line
- Gift of Tessim Zorach and Dahlov Ipcar
- Mediums
- Mediums Description
- cast and patinated plaster
- Classifications
- Subjects
- 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.