Artist Name:
Louis Monza
Nationality & Life Dates:
American, born Italy, 1897-1984
Title:
The Three Muses
Date:
1964
Medium:
Terra-cotta
Dimensions:
19 1/2 x 11 x 4 inches
Credit Line:
Gift of Lauri Martin and Susan Larsen Martin
Accession Number:
2006.139
On View - Stent Family Wing, Skyway Level, Gallery 406
Italian-born Louis Monza immigrated to the United States on the eve of World War I, bringing with him considerable woodcarving skill that easily translated into other media, including printmaking and terracotta sculpture. Monza’s ability is evident in The Three Muses in the carefully incised detailing of the primary figures’ robes, as the garments envelope and define the faces of the three goddesses. The flattened figure of a devotee embraces the group, while a serpent at the base of the piece thrusts his head outward toward the viewer.