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Venezia

ca. 1865–66
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 736
Idealized representations of geographic locales—cities, countries, and continents—were particularly appealing to nineteenth-century Americans. This allegorical bust may be a wedding portrait: Mead not only honors his new wife, whom he met in Venice, but also offers a tribute to the city traditionally known as the Bride of the Sea. The figure wears a tiara of beads and a central scallop shell that features a small gondola. She emerges from a textured sea-foam bodice referencing Venice’s water setting. Mead worked in Florence for more than half a century, relying on Italian materials and labor to create sculptures for the American market.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Venezia
  • Artist: Larkin Goldsmith Mead (1835–1910)
  • Date: ca. 1865–66
  • Culture: American
  • Medium: Marble
  • Dimensions: 27 x 15 1/4 x 11 1/8 in. (68.6 x 38.7 x 28.3 cm)
  • Credit Line: Purchase, Gift of William Nelson and Gift of Misses Alice and Evelyn Blight and Mrs. William Payne Thompson, by exchange, 1999
  • Object Number: 1999.18
  • Curatorial Department: The American Wing

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