Winter
Medium
Bronze
Dimensions
Overall (confirmed): 56 1/2 x 15 3/8 x 19 7/8 in., Wt. 438 lb., 15 in. (143.5 x 39.1 x 50.5 cm, 198.6755kg, 38.1 cm); Pedestal: H. 34 in. (86.4 cm)
Classification
Sculpture-Bronze
Culture
French, Paris
Department
European Sculpture and Decorative Arts
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Bequest of Kate Trubee Davison, 1962
Accession Number
62.55
Tags
Art Historical Context
Jean Antoine Houdon's bronze sculpture *Winter*, created in 1787, presents an allegorical female nude embodying the season's quiet austerity. Cast in Paris during the final years of the French Enlightenment, the work reflects the's renewed interest in classical of form and proportion. Houdon, celebrated for his precise anatomical modeling lifelike portraiture, here translates those skills into a full-length figure whose subtle contrapposto and smooth surfaces invite viewers to contemplate both natural cycles and human vulnerability. The choice of bronze lends the sculpture enduring strength a...