Cyrus Edwin Dallin, Don Quixote de la Mancha: Knight of the Windmill, 1898. (Expressive form: narrative sculpture).Unique bronze cast, 58 x 19 x 34" (47 x 48 x 36 cm). Courtesy of Springville Museum of Art The Springville Museum of Art is the oldest museum in Utah for the visual fine arts. Completed in 1937, this building was designed in the style of the Spanish Colonial Revival by Claud S. Ashworth. It was dedicated by LDS Apostle David O. . About the Art Cyrus Dallin had worked as a sculptor for many years when he decided to return to Paris and bring his work up to the technical standards of the French masters. While studying, he sculpted sculpt v. sculpt·ed, sculpt·ing, sculpts v.tr. 1. To sculpture (an object). 2. To shape, mold, or fashion especially with artistry or precision: Don Quixote in the tight academic style of the official French art of the late 1800s. Although the cost of casting was prohibitively high (before the days of acetylene acetylene (əsĕt`əlēn') or ethyne (ĕth`īn), HC≡CH, a colorless gas. It melts at −80.8°C; and boils at −84.0°C;. torches and rubber molds), Dallin scraped together the money. He wanted the piece to be able to compete with the French artworks in the Paris Salon. The critic William H. Downs hailed the work as "one of the most delightfully original and imaginative of American sculptures." The subject of the sculpture is from Miguel de Cervantes' classic 17th-century novel Don Quixote, Dallin depicts Don Quixote, mounted on his bony steed steed see nag. , Rozinante, and clothed clothe tr.v. clothed or clad , cloth·ing, clothes 1. To put clothes on; dress. 2. To provide clothes for. 3. To cover as if with clothing. in full armor. About the Artist Cyrus Dallin was born in Springville, Utah Springville is a city in Utah County, Utah, United States. The population was 20,424 at the 2000 census and by 2004 had been estimated at 21,507. Just minutes south of Provo, Springville is treated as a bedroom community for commuters who work in Salt Lake City and Provo, Utah. , along the edge of the Wasatch Mountains. When he was eighteen, Dallin traveled to Boston to begin his art studies. Later he studied sculpture in Paris for two years and then moved back to America and lived in Massachusetts. Dallin is best-known for his sculptures of historic figures and Native Americans. Things to Consider Compare the style of Dallin's sculpture with the style of Da Winnah! What do the differing styles indicate about the two artists' intentions, about the different societies? Don Quixote was written as a parody of romantic chivalry chivalry (shĭv`əlrē), system of ethical ideals that arose from feudalism and had its highest development in the 12th and 13th cent. , but is now seen as a tale depicting conflict between noble idealism and unfeeling practicality. Based on the sculpture, what is Dallin's view of Don Quixote? For more information visit www.sma.nebo.edu. GalleryCard submitted by Sharon Gray, Springville Museum of Art, Springville, Utah. |
|
||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion