Summer (one of a set of four)

Art Historical Context

Edme Bouchardon's "Summer," carved in marble during the mid-18th century, forms part of a set of four sculptures that capture the spirit French Rococo and early Neoclassical taste. Bouchardon, a leading sculptor of his day, worked in a refined, elegant style that balanced graceful naturalism with classical restraint. The cool, luminous quality of marble allows for delicate modeling of forms and textures, making it ideal for evoking the gentle warmth and abundance associated with the season. The relief portrays children accompanied by rabbits, symbols of fertility and playful vitality that would have resonated with viewers familiar with allegorical traditions. Created for a cultivated audience, such works often adorned private interiors or gardens, inviting quiet contemplation of nature's cycles. Now in the Metropolitan Museum's collection, this piece reflects the Enlightenment-era fascination with ordered harmony and the pleasures of the natural world, offering visitors a glimpse into 18th-century French decorative sculpture at its most charming.

About the Artist

Edme Bouchardon · 1698–1762

Born 29 May 1698; died 27 July 1762. Bouchardon was a student of Guillaume Coustou, and won the prix de Rome in 1722. He spent ten years (1722-1732) in Rome, Italy working on various projects for Pope Clement XII. In 1732 Bouchardon was recalled to Paris and named sculptor to the king. Bouchardon became a professor at the Académie Royale in 1746. He worked on an equestrian monument of Louis XV, Ki...