William Rush and His Model
Encyclopedia
Thomas Eakins
Thomas Cowperthwait Eakins was an American realist painter, photographer, sculptor, and fine arts educator...
, one set from 1876-77 and the other from 1908. These works depict the American wood sculptor William Rush
William Rush
William Rush was a U.S. neoclassical sculptor from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He is considered the first major American sculptor....
in 1808, carving his statue Water Nymph and Bittern for a fountain at Philadelphia's first waterworks
WaterWorks
WaterWorks is a water park owned by Cedar Fair, located at the back of Kings Dominion in Doswell, Virginia. When it debuted in 1992, it was originally named Hurricane Reef...
. The water nymph is an allegorical
Allegory
Allegory is a demonstrative form of representation explaining meaning other than the words that are spoken. Allegory communicates its message by means of symbolic figures, actions or symbolic representation...
figure representing the Schuylkill River
Schuylkill River
The Schuylkill River is a river in Pennsylvania. It is a designated Pennsylvania Scenic River.The river is about long. Its watershed of about lies entirely within the state of Pennsylvania. The source of its eastern branch is in the Appalachian Mountains at Tuscarora Springs, near Tamaqua in...
, which provided the city's drinking water, and on her shoulder is a bittern
American Bittern
The American Bittern is a wading bird of the heron family Ardeidae. New evidence has led the American Ornithologists' Union to move the heron family into the order Pelecaniformes .-Description:...
, a native waterbird related to the heron. Hence, these works are also known as William Rush Carving His Allegorical Figure of the Schuylkill River.
Eakins and Rush
Eakins's interest in William RushWilliam Rush
William Rush was a U.S. neoclassical sculptor from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He is considered the first major American sculptor....
originated from a desire to restore Rush's name to prominence in the history of American art. Eakins taught at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts
Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts
The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts is a museum and art school in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1805 and is the oldest art museum and school in the United States. The academy's museum is internationally known for its collections of 19th and 20th century American paintings,...
, of which Rush had been a founder. Eakins was a strong believer in teaching human anatomy, and insisted that his students study from nude models. Since it is unlikely that Rush had employed a nude model for his sculpture of a draped water nymph, the painting may be viewed as Eakins's demonstration of the importance of studying anatomy from nudes.
In 1872, Rush's statue of Water Nymph and Bittern was stripped of its white paint, and a bronze copy was cast to be the centerpiece of a fountain near the Fairmount Waterworks. Eakins was able to study both versions, and his notes document the deteriorated condition of the wooden original. Only its head survives, in the collection of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts
Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts
The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts is a museum and art school in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1805 and is the oldest art museum and school in the United States. The academy's museum is internationally known for its collections of 19th and 20th century American paintings,...
.
1876-77 versions
As part of his process of creating the painting, Eakins carved wax studies of the nymph, her head, Rush's head, the nude model, and the other Rush sculptures depicted. Five of the six wax studies survive, in the collection of the Philadelphia Museum of ArtPhiladelphia Museum of Art
The Philadelphia Museum of Art is among the largest art museums in the United States. It is located at the west end of the Benjamin Franklin Parkway in Philadelphia's Fairmount Park. The Museum was established in 1876 in conjunction with the Centennial Exposition of the same year...
.
Yale University Art Gallery
The Yale University Art Gallery houses a significant and encyclopedic collection of art in several buildings on the campus of Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. Although it embraces all cultures and periods, the Gallery possesses especially renowned collections of early Italian painting,...
is what appears to be an abandoned version of the painting (G-111), presumed to pre-date the PMA version. This is sometimes called a study, but it is almost the same size as the PMA version, contains the same figures (although the chaperone faces a different direction), and was never displayed during Eakins's lifetime.
At the Farnsworth Art Museum
Farnsworth Art Museum
The Farnsworth Art Museum in Rockland, Maine, United States, is an art museum that specializes in American art. Its permanent collection includes works by such artists as Gilbert Stuart, Thomas Sully, Thomas Eakins, Eastman Johnson, Fitz Henry Lane, Frank Benson, Childe Hassam, and Maurice...
in Rockland, Maine
Rockland, Maine
Rockland is a city in Knox County, Maine, in the United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 7,297. It is the county seat of Knox County. The city is a popular tourist destination...
is an oil study for another composition (G-110). The model stands on a higher pedestal, and the chaperone has been placed between the model and Rush. Judging from a photograph in a 1938 auction catologue, G-110 seems to be cut down from a larger study.
The finished version of William Rush and His Model (G-109, Philadelphia Museum of Art
Philadelphia Museum of Art
The Philadelphia Museum of Art is among the largest art museums in the United States. It is located at the west end of the Benjamin Franklin Parkway in Philadelphia's Fairmount Park. The Museum was established in 1876 in conjunction with the Centennial Exposition of the same year...
) has the model slightly rotated, and the chaperone to the model's right, facing Rush. In the foreground, between Rush and the model, stands a chair conspicuously displaying the model's clothes. Rush’s life-sized figure of George Washington
George Washington
George Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...
(1815), and his Allegorical Figure of The Waterworks (1825) – a reclining female figure manipulating a waterwheel – are visible in the background. Although the painting is historically inaccurate – Rush carved Water Nymph and Bittern in 1808, and the other statues years later – Eakins's intent seems to have been to present a survey of the sculptor’s whole career.
The painting was first exhibited in January 1878 at the Boston Art Club
Boston Art Club
The Boston Art Club, Boston, Massachusetts, for nearly 157 years, serves as a nexus for Members and non Members to access the world of Fine Art. Currently more than 250 members maintain an active environment for the support and promotion of these works....
, and later that year at the Society of American Artists
Society of American Artists
The Society of American Artists was an American artists group. It was formed in 1877 by artists who felt the National Academy of Design did not adequately meet their needs, and was too conservative....
in New York. It immediately sparked controversy with one New York reviewer writing, "What ruins the picture is much less the want of beauty in the model… than the presence in the foreground of the clothes of that young woman, cast carelessly over a chair. This gives the shock which makes one think about the nudity—and at once the picture becomes improper”.
1908 versions
For unspecified reasons – possibly, related to the statue's centennial? – Eakins returned to this subject in 1908. His first 1908 version (now in the Brooklyn MuseumBrooklyn Museum
The Brooklyn Museum is an encyclopedia art museum located in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. At 560,000 square feet, the museum holds New York City's second largest art collection with roughly 1.5 million works....
) is similar to the PMA version, however, Rush and his statue have been moved to the far right, the chaperone is to the model's left, facing the viewer, and the pile of the model’s clothes has been eliminated. This is the least successful composition, with little visual connection between Rush and the model.
The second 1908 version (in the Honolulu Academy of Arts
Honolulu Academy of Arts
The Honolulu Academy of Arts is an art museum in Honolulu in the state of Hawaii. Since its founding in 1922 by Anna Rice Cooke and opening April 8, 1927, its collections have grown to over 40,000 works of art.-Description:...
) shows a frontal view of the nude model descending the platform. She is neither idealized nor sentimentalized. Rush is now out of the shadows and holding the model's hand as if helping a grand lady descend from a carriage. The chaperone and background sculptures are omitted from this version. The figure of Rush is said to have Eakins’s features.
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