Four Seasons (sculpture set)
Encyclopedia
The Four Seasons are a set of four stone allegorical putti, each representing a traditional, temperate season. These are a part of the outdoor sculpture collection of the historic Oldfields
estate, located on the campus of the Indianapolis Museum of Art
(IMA), in Indianapolis
, Indiana
.
Spring, to which the IMA assigned accession number LH2001.238, is distinguished by the presence of flower blossoms. The putto stands with his left leg forward, supporting on his left hip a woven basket filled with blossoms. His right hand holds a cluster of large buds. The figure is clad in a cloth wrapped around his waist and rolled at the upper edge for support, and on his head he wears an anadem (wreath) of blossoms.
Summer, accession number LH2001.236, is identified with wheat
. This putto stands in a rather dynamic contrapposto
, weight on his straightened left leg, swinging his laden arms out to his left side. With both hands he is holding a sheaf of harvested wheat. His head is turned slightly to his right. The figure is clad in a synthesis
or draped cloth clasped over the left shoulder and belted around the waist, and he wears a thin cloth headband around his curls that is knotted in back.
Autumn, accession number LH2001.239, shows the fruits of the season and a goblet. The putto stands in a slight contrapposto, weight on his proper right leg, and his head turned to his left. His arms reach out in front of his belly. In his proper right hand he holds a goblet, and his left hand holds a cluster of grapes. He is clad in a robe tied over the right shoulder and twisted along the upper edge across the chest. It is belted around the waist. He wears a wreath of grapevine in his curls. Behind him, to the proper right of the tree stump, is a basket of fruit.
Winter, accession number LH2001.237, bears no produce. In this sculpture a putto stands with his weight on his straightened left leg and his right leg bent and crossed in front of the left, the ball of the right foot resting on a rock. His upper body leans right and his arms are crossed, right over left. The right hand grasps the left upper arm, and the left hand clutches the two ends of a cloth wrapped around the boy from waist to knee. The figure looks to his left. Unlike the other sculptures in this set, LH2001.237’s curly locks are unadorned.
typically represented the seasons as voluptuous goddesses known as the Horae
. This imagery carried over into neoclassical
art and later and became especially popular as garden sculpture. Putti (re-popularized in the Renaissance
) became common allegorical figures and often took over the role of the Horae, as here. This change in preference may have occurred because putti are more innocuous than the sexualized goddesses of antiquity.
Summer holds a sheaf of wheat and wears a cloth headband to illustrate the labor and product of the wheat harvest, which is done in the summer. Wheat can either be planted in the winter ("winter wheat") or the spring ("spring wheat"), to be harvested at the beginning or very end of summer, respectively.
Autumn is the season in which most fruits become ripe. Since grapes are harvested in the fall, wine is also made in the fall. This is alluded to by the goblet.
Winter is shown without produce and striving to warm himself because the temperate winter is cold and rather barren.
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. The Seasons were among these and were assigned the accession numbers listed above in the description.
In 2006 all four sculptures and their pedestals were removed from view for conservation work, and then replaced. For the 2010 Four Seasons Garden renovations the sculptures were removed to Newfield (the house J.K. Lilly, Jr., built as a home by for his son) for storage. They were reinstalled upon completion of the renovation in April, 2011, but are not in the original positions. LH2001.238 and LH2001.239 have been exchanged accidentally.
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, located 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...
.
Description
The four sculptures are similar in size, color, and sculptural style. Each is carved from a single block of white stone. Each figure stands on a small, square base and is structurally supported by a carved tree stump. On the underside of each base is carved the word “ITALY”. In their current placement the sculptures are elevated to eye level on matching tall, narrow, rectangular stone bases constructed in three pieces and held together via mortise and tenon. The sculptures differ in that each is shown with a traditional iconographic indicator of the depicted season.Spring, to which the IMA assigned accession number LH2001.238, is distinguished by the presence of flower blossoms. The putto stands with his left leg forward, supporting on his left hip a woven basket filled with blossoms. His right hand holds a cluster of large buds. The figure is clad in a cloth wrapped around his waist and rolled at the upper edge for support, and on his head he wears an anadem (wreath) of blossoms.
Summer, accession number LH2001.236, is identified with wheat
Wheat
Wheat is a cereal grain, originally from the Levant region of the Near East, but now cultivated worldwide. In 2007 world production of wheat was 607 million tons, making it the third most-produced cereal after maize and rice...
. This putto stands in a rather dynamic contrapposto
Contrapposto
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...
, weight on his straightened left leg, swinging his laden arms out to his left side. With both hands he is holding a sheaf of harvested wheat. His head is turned slightly to his right. The figure is clad in a synthesis
Synthesis
In general, the noun synthesis refers to a combination of two or more entities that together form something new; alternately, it refers to the creating of something by artificial means...
or draped cloth clasped over the left shoulder and belted around the waist, and he wears a thin cloth headband around his curls that is knotted in back.
Autumn, accession number LH2001.239, shows the fruits of the season and a goblet. The putto stands in a slight contrapposto, weight on his proper right leg, and his head turned to his left. His arms reach out in front of his belly. In his proper right hand he holds a goblet, and his left hand holds a cluster of grapes. He is clad in a robe tied over the right shoulder and twisted along the upper edge across the chest. It is belted around the waist. He wears a wreath of grapevine in his curls. Behind him, to the proper right of the tree stump, is a basket of fruit.
Winter, accession number LH2001.237, bears no produce. In this sculpture a putto stands with his weight on his straightened left leg and his right leg bent and crossed in front of the left, the ball of the right foot resting on a rock. His upper body leans right and his arms are crossed, right over left. The right hand grasps the left upper arm, and the left hand clutches the two ends of a cloth wrapped around the boy from waist to knee. The figure looks to his left. Unlike the other sculptures in this set, LH2001.237’s curly locks are unadorned.
Art Historical Context
The Four Seasons are an ancient decorative motif. Usually each season is represented as an allegorical figure bearing traditional iconographic symbols. The RomansAncient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
typically represented the seasons as voluptuous goddesses known as the Horae
Horae
In Greek mythology the Horae or Hours were the goddesses of the seasons and the natural portions of time. They were originally the personifications of nature in its different seasonal aspects, but in later times they were regarded as goddessess of order in general and natural justice...
. This imagery carried over into neoclassical
Neoclassicism
Neoclassicism is the name given to Western movements in the decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture that draw inspiration from the "classical" art and culture of Ancient Greece or Ancient Rome...
art and later and became especially popular as garden sculpture. Putti (re-popularized in the Renaissance
Renaissance
The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. The term is also used more loosely to refer to the historical era, but since the changes of the Renaissance were not...
) became common allegorical figures and often took over the role of the Horae, as here. This change in preference may have occurred because putti are more innocuous than the sexualized goddesses of antiquity.
Iconography
Spring is shown with profuse flowers because it is the season when most flowering plants blossom.Summer holds a sheaf of wheat and wears a cloth headband to illustrate the labor and product of the wheat harvest, which is done in the summer. Wheat can either be planted in the winter ("winter wheat") or the spring ("spring wheat"), to be harvested at the beginning or very end of summer, respectively.
Autumn is the season in which most fruits become ripe. Since grapes are harvested in the fall, wine is also made in the fall. This is alluded to by the goblet.
Winter is shown without produce and striving to warm himself because the temperate winter is cold and rather barren.
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. The Seasons were among these and were assigned the accession numbers listed above in the description.
Provenance
The “Italy” carving on the underside of each sculpture suggests that these were produced in Italy for export. Nothing is known of the maker of this set.Acquisition
It is not known with certainty when this sculpture set was first brought to the Oldfields estate, but it is documented in historic photographs from the Landon era.Location history
The Four Seasons Garden was designed in 1939 by Haldeman & Leland to complement the Recreation Building, which was added to the property in 1940 by the Lilly family. The Seasons putti are believed to date to the Landon era and were incorporated into the new garden design.In 2006 all four sculptures and their pedestals were removed from view for conservation work, and then replaced. For the 2010 Four Seasons Garden renovations the sculptures were removed to Newfield (the house J.K. Lilly, Jr., built as a home by for his son) for storage. They were reinstalled upon completion of the renovation in April, 2011, but are not in the original positions. LH2001.238 and LH2001.239 have been exchanged accidentally.