Amor Caritas
- Artist
- Augustus Saint-Gaudens, American (born Ireland), 1848–1907
- Date
- 1898, cast later
- Material
- Gilded bronze
- designed in
- New York, United States, North and Central America
- Classification
- Sculpture
- Current Location
- On View, Gallery 335
- Dimensions
- 40 1/8 x 17 3/8 x 4 5/8 in. (101.9 x 44.2 x 11.7 cm)
- Credit Line
- Museum Purchase
- Rights
- Contact Us
- Object Number
- 54:1927
NOTES
A winged allegorical female represents Amor Caritas, or love and charity in Latin. The figure tilts her head slightly, offering a somewhat melancholy expression, reflecting her origin as part of a tomb monument Augustus Saint-Gaudens designed. Delicate garlands of passion flowers entwine her hair and waist.
Painters in this period were deeply interested in the effects of light, and sculptors were as well. The fluid drape of the gown as it gathers and falls over the figure creates a flickering glow. Its delicate, ethereal quality conveys the era’s idealization of female innocence that was seen to contrast with the male, money-driven business world.
Painters in this period were deeply interested in the effects of light, and sculptors were as well. The fluid drape of the gown as it gathers and falls over the figure creates a flickering glow. Its delicate, ethereal quality conveys the era’s idealization of female innocence that was seen to contrast with the male, money-driven business world.