Ruth Gleaning
Randolph ROGERS
(American, 1825-1892)
Ruth Gleaning
Date1861
Mediummarble
Dimensionsobject with base: 34 3/4 x 16 in. (88.3 x 40.6 cm)
ClassificationSCULPTURE
Credit LineSBMA, Museum purchase with funds provided by Mrs. Sterling Morton for gallery niche
Object number1969.9
Subject(s)
- women
- figure
Collection
- 19th century American
- American
Sub-Collection(s)
- American
On View
On viewCollections
Label TextPart of a second generation of American sculptors to join the art colony in Rome during the mid-19th century, Randolph Rogers achieved great success with this idealized sculpture of the Biblical figure Ruth. Depicted in a crouching position, Ruth gleans in the fields of Boaz, her future husband. The sheaf of wheat draped over her forearm and thigh and the vegetation under her feet are her identifying features. Originally modeled in 1853, this is an example of one of the numerous three-quarters reduced scale versions that the sculptor commissioned Italian artisans to produce. Imbuing its literary sources with a subtle eroticism cloaked in the guise of Christian virtue, Rogers’ rendition of Ruth is typical of Victorian sculpture and the tastes of those who admired it.
John Randolph CARTER
1971
