The Young Acrobat

Douglas Tilden, The Young Acrobat, modeled ca. 1891, bronze, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Dr. Wayne H. Decker, 1991.62
Copied Douglas Tilden, The Young Acrobat, modeled ca. 1891, bronze, 33 581212 in. (85.430.530.5 cm.), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Dr. Wayne H. Decker, 1991.62
Free to use

Artwork Details

Title
The Young Acrobat
Caster
E. Gruet Jeune
Founder
E. Gruet Jeune
Date
modeled ca. 1891
Dimensions
33 581212 in. (85.430.530.5 cm.)
Credit Line
Gift of Dr. Wayne H. Decker
Mediums
Mediums Description
bronze
Classifications
Keywords
  • Figure — fragment — arm
  • Figure male — child — nude
Object Number
1991.62

Artwork Description

Douglas Tilden exhibited The Young Acrobat at the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago. The work shows a chubby, nude baby poised unsteadily in the palm of a man's outstretched arm. The rolled-up sleeve may symbolize the working man who holds up to the world the hope and promise of the future. The work reveals Tilden's characteristic choice of subject matter that shows a measured balance between delicacy and force. Tilden believed that sculpture should be beautiful from all sides; the attention to musculature and fleshy detail on all surfaces of this work suggests that he intended it to be seen in the round.