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Mrs. Schuyler Van Rensselaer (Mariana Griswold Van Rensselaer)

1888, cast 1890
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 764
Mariana Griswold Van Rensselaer (1851–1934), among the most perceptive late nineteenth-century critics of American art and architecture, steadfastly championed Saint-Gaudens. In this elegant vertical portrait, the sculptor made full use of bronze’s textural possibilities by contrasting the lively surfaces of the sitter’s dress and collar with her smooth skin. The inscription—animvs non opvs (the spirit, not the work)—refers to Van Rensselaer’s Aesthetic ideals that were in sympathy with the cosmopolitan artists and architects she promoted. The bronze is encased in a carved oak frame designed by Stanford White.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Mrs. Schuyler Van Rensselaer (Mariana Griswold Van Rensselaer)
  • Artist: Augustus Saint-Gaudens (American, Dublin 1848–1907 Cornish, New Hampshire)
  • Founder: Cast by Henry-Bonnard Bronze Company (ca. 1882–1926)
  • Date: 1888, cast 1890
  • Culture: American
  • Medium: Bronze
  • Dimensions: 20 3/8 x 7 3/4 in. (51.8 x 19.7 cm)
  • Credit Line: Gift of Mrs. Schuyler Van Rensselaer, 1917
  • Object Number: 17.104
  • Curatorial Department: The American Wing

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