Ruth Gleaning
1850; carved 1855 or 1856
Medium
Marble
Dimensions
45 3/4 x 23 3/4 x 24 in. (116.2 x 60.3 x 61 cm)
Classification
Sculpture
Culture
American
Department
The American Wing
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of James Douglas, 1899
Accession Number
99.7.1
Tags
Art Historical Context
**Ruth Gleaning** (modeled 1850; carved 1855 or 1856) by sculptor Randolph Rogers captures a poignant biblical scene from the Book of Ruth. In this marble sculpture, now housed in The Met's American Wing, Ruth is depicted as a graceful female nude, bent in the humble act of gleaning grain from the fields—a symbol of devotion and resilience. Standing at nearly four feet tall (45 3/4 x 23 3/4 x 24 in.), the exemplifies mid-19th-century neoc ideals, blending classical anatomy with moral storytelling. Rogers, a prominent American artist who trained and worked in Rome, mastered marble carving to e...
About the Artist
Randolph Rogers
Randolph Rogers (1825–1892) was a prominent American Neoclassical sculptor whose career bridged the worlds of popular genre sculpture and grand public commissions. Born on July 6, 1825, in Waterloo, New York, the son of a carpenter and millwright, Rogers grew up in Ann Arbor, Michigan, after his family relocated westward in pursuit of opportunity. Showing early aptitude for drawing and wood engrav...