The Horses of Anahita
Modeled 1848–50, cast 1882–1910
Medium
Plaster
Dimensions
49 × 74.5 × 31.1 cm (19 5/16 × 29 5/16 × 12 1/4 in.)
Classification
sculpture
Department
Arts of the Americas
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
65008
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
In 1846, after reading his brother’s translation of a sixth-century Persian poem about Anahita, the goddess of the night, William Morris Hunt became intrigued with the myth, and he returned to the subject repeatedly throughout his career. Anahita was an important Persian nature deity, probably derived from Babylonian mythology, who was identified with Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love. Although the poem describes Anahita fleeing the dawn in her chariot, Hunt did not actually include the deity...
About the Artist
William Morris Hunt · 1824–1879
American, Brattleboro, Vermont 1824–1879 Appledore, New Hampshire