Mercury and Turtle
Little is known about Harnisch's career as a sculptor. He was a student at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, where he studied with the French sculptor Joseph A. Bailly. Before establishing a studio in Rome in 1869, he exhibited several works at the Pennsylvania Academy, including "Mercury and Turtle" in 1862. That may have been a plaster model, which the sculptor then took to Italy with him, and translated to marble in 1879. The youthful Mercury, identified by his cap sits with head bent, peering downward.
Artwork Details
- Title: Mercury and Turtle
- Artist: Albert E. Harnisch (American, 1843–1918)
- Date: 1862; carved 1879
- Culture: American
- Medium: Marble
- Dimensions: 41 1/2 x 15 x 17 in. (105.4 x 38.1 x 43.2 cm)
- Credit Line: Gift of Mrs. George K. Livermore, 1982
- Object Number: 1982.442
- Curatorial Department: The American Wing
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