Diana with Dog
Encyclopedia
Diana with Dog is a life-size, figurative cast stone
outdoor sculpture located on the historic Oldfields
estate on the campus of the Indianapolis Museum of Art
(IMA), in Indianapolis
, Indiana
. The sculpture depicts Diana
, the ancient Roman goddess of the hunt (equivalent to Artemis
in the Greek pantheon), standing next to a seated hound and bearing a bow and quiver of arrows.
, with her weight shifted toward her proper right leg. Her proper left foot rests on a rock. In her proper left arm Diana holds a hunting bow at her side, which extends from her mid-thigh to above her shoulder. Her proper right arm reaches across her body to help stabilize the bow. Her head is turned to look out over her proper right side.
The folds of her dress are parted to expose her proper left foot, bent knee, and leg up to mid-thigh. Here, a diamond-shaped clasp holds the parted material, which cascades to ground length around the rest of the figure. Her dress is belted around her waist and the upper portion covers her proper left breast and shoulder. She also wears a small cloth that billows behind her from her proper right hip and drapes over her proper left shoulder, where it is then twisted into a rope that crosses the front of her body to connect with the end at her hip. A quiver full of arrows is slung across her back by a strap on her proper right shoulder. On her head she wears a small crescent moon-shaped diadem; her hair is tied into a bun at the back.
The dog sits against Diana’s proper right leg. Its neck cranes upward to look at her face, and the tip of its nose reaches to her mid-thigh.
The sculpture rests upon a low, square concrete base.
in the 1920s. The property and all sculptures on it were donated to the IMA by the family of former Oldfields owner Josiah K. Lilly, Jr., in 1967.
In 2001 the outdoor sculptures were assessed, and eighteen selected pieces were accessioned into the IMA’s Lilly House collection. Diana with Dog was assigned Accession Number LH2001.226. Its associated base (see Location History below) is accessioned as NON_ART_83.
It is likely that Diana with Dog is one copy of a mass-produced form, as is the case with many of the Oldfields sculptures, including Diana with Deer and Diana Robing. Moreover, it too may be a copy of a Greco-Roman or neoclassical sculpture, as these were common inspirations for mass-produced estate decoration. Diana was frequently depicted mid-hunt with a bow and quiver, and there are several examples of ancient Diana sculptures including a hound. The theme remained a favorite in Renaissance and neoclassical art.
Cast stone
Cast stone is defined as “a refined architectural concrete building unit manufactured to simulate natural cut stone, used in unit masonry applications”. In the UK and Europe cast stone is defined as “any material manufactured with aggregate and cementitious binder, intended to resemble in...
outdoor sculpture located on the historic Oldfields
Oldfields
Oldfields also known as Lilly House and Gardens, is a 26 acre historic estate and house museum on the grounds of the Indianapolis Museum of Art in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. The estate, an example of the American country house movement of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, was...
estate on the campus of the Indianapolis Museum of Art
Indianapolis Museum of Art
The Indianapolis Museum of Art is an encyclopedic art museum located in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. The museum, which underwent a $74 million expansion in 2005, is located on a campus on the near northwest area outside downtown Indianapolis, northwest of Crown Hill Cemetery.The...
(IMA), in Indianapolis
Indianapolis
Indianapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Indiana, and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population is 839,489. It is by far Indiana's largest city and, as of the 2010 U.S...
, Indiana
Indiana
Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...
. The sculpture depicts Diana
Diana
Diana may refer to:*Diana , ancient Roman goddess of the moon, the hunt, and chastity*Diana , people with the given name Diana*Diana, Princess of Wales, first wife of Charles, Prince of Wales-Music:...
, the ancient Roman goddess of the hunt (equivalent to Artemis
Artemis
Artemis was one of the most widely venerated of the Ancient Greek deities. Her Roman equivalent is Diana. Some scholars believe that the name and indeed the goddess herself was originally pre-Greek. Homer refers to her as Artemis Agrotera, Potnia Theron: "Artemis of the wildland, Mistress of Animals"...
in the Greek pantheon), standing next to a seated hound and bearing a bow and quiver of arrows.
Description
Diana stands in contrappostoContrapposto
Contrapposto is an Italian term that means counterpose. It is used in the visual arts to describe a human figure standing with most of its weight on one foot so that its shoulders and arms twist off-axis from the hips and legs. This gives the figure a more dynamic, or alternatively relaxed...
, with her weight shifted toward her proper right leg. Her proper left foot rests on a rock. In her proper left arm Diana holds a hunting bow at her side, which extends from her mid-thigh to above her shoulder. Her proper right arm reaches across her body to help stabilize the bow. Her head is turned to look out over her proper right side.
The folds of her dress are parted to expose her proper left foot, bent knee, and leg up to mid-thigh. Here, a diamond-shaped clasp holds the parted material, which cascades to ground length around the rest of the figure. Her dress is belted around her waist and the upper portion covers her proper left breast and shoulder. She also wears a small cloth that billows behind her from her proper right hip and drapes over her proper left shoulder, where it is then twisted into a rope that crosses the front of her body to connect with the end at her hip. A quiver full of arrows is slung across her back by a strap on her proper right shoulder. On her head she wears a small crescent moon-shaped diadem; her hair is tied into a bun at the back.
The dog sits against Diana’s proper right leg. Its neck cranes upward to look at her face, and the tip of its nose reaches to her mid-thigh.
The sculpture rests upon a low, square concrete base.
Historical information
The grounds of Oldfields were landscaped by Percival Gallagher of the Olmsted BrothersOlmsted Brothers
The Olmsted Brothers company was an influential landscape design firm in the United States, formed in 1898 by stepbrothers John Charles Olmsted and Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr. .-History:...
in the 1920s. The property and all sculptures on it were donated to the IMA by the family of former Oldfields owner Josiah K. Lilly, Jr., in 1967.
In 2001 the outdoor sculptures were assessed, and eighteen selected pieces were accessioned into the IMA’s Lilly House collection. Diana with Dog was assigned Accession Number LH2001.226. Its associated base (see Location History below) is accessioned as NON_ART_83.
It is likely that Diana with Dog is one copy of a mass-produced form, as is the case with many of the Oldfields sculptures, including Diana with Deer and Diana Robing. Moreover, it too may be a copy of a Greco-Roman or neoclassical sculpture, as these were common inspirations for mass-produced estate decoration. Diana was frequently depicted mid-hunt with a bow and quiver, and there are several examples of ancient Diana sculptures including a hound. The theme remained a favorite in Renaissance and neoclassical art.