The Solitude of the Soul
Modeled in plaster 1901; sculpted in marble 1914
Medium
Marble
Dimensions
231.2 × 129.6 × 105.5 cm (91 × 51 × 41 1/2 in.)
Classification
sculpture
Department
Arts of the Americas
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
70466
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
The Neoclassicism of the sculptors Harriet Hosmer and Randolph Rogers was replaced in the second half of the 19th century by the more realistic naturalism of French-trained sculptors such as Lorado Taft. An instructor in modeling at the School of the Art Institute for 20 years, Taft created public monuments for Chicago that made the city a center for sculpture. The figures in this work are only partly freed from the marble, a technique that emphasizes the mass and outline of the stone. Explainin...