Turning Turtle

Albert Laessle American

On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 774

Laessle’s Turning Turtle was the result of his long interest in the turtle as a sculptural subject, which began while he was an art student in Philadelphia. Later, in Paris, he borrowed a turtle and made careful studies. This resulting statuette depicts a turtle struggling to right itself, balanced by its head, one front leg, and one back leg. When it was exhibited at the Paris Salon of 1907, apparently the jurors refused to believe that the turtle was modeled, rather than cast from life, so convincingly lifelike was the sculpture.

Turning Turtle, Albert Laessle (American, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 1877–1954 Miami, Florida), Bronze

Due to rights restrictions, this image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.

Open Access

As part of the Met's Open Access policy, you can freely copy, modify and distribute this image, even for commercial purposes.

API

Public domain data for this object can also be accessed using the Met's Open Access API.