''Mrs. Schuyler Van Rensselaer (Mariana Griswold)'' is a

bronze sculpture Bronze is the most popular metal for Casting (metalworking), cast metal sculptures; a cast bronze sculpture is often called simply "a bronze". It can be used for statues, singly or in groups, reliefs, and small statuettes and figurines, as w ...

by American artist

Augustus Saint-Gaudens Augustus Saint-Gaudens (; March 1, 1848 – August 3, 1907) was an American sculptor of the Beaux-Arts generation who embodied the ideals of the American Renaissance. From a French-Irish family, Saint-Gaudens was raised in New York City, he trave ...

. It was designed in 1888 and cast in 1890. This artwork portrays the American author, art critic, and reformer

Mariana Griswold Van Rensselaer Mariana Alley Griswold Van Rensselaer (February 21, 1851 – January 20, 1934), usually known as Mrs. Schuyler Van Rensselaer or M. G. Van Rensselaer, was an American author focusing on architectural criticism. Early life Mariana Alley Griswo ...

(1851–1934), who "championed Saint-Gaudens in articles on his public monuments and relief sculptures". The inscription on the upper center of the sculpture, ("the spirit, not the work") is a reference to Mrs. Van Rensselaer's "high-minded aesthetic ideals". The work was given in 1917 by the sitter to the

Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...

References

External links

''Mrs. Schuyler Van Rensselaer''
on Metropolitan Museum of Art 19th-century sculptures Bronze sculptures in New York City Sculptures by Augustus Saint-Gaudens Sculptures in the Metropolitan Museum of Art Sculptures of women in New York City {{NewYork-sculpture-stub