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Diana

Founder Cast by E. Gruet French
1888–89; cast 1890
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 768
While a student at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, MacMonnies began modeling his first statue, “Diana”. After earning an honorable mention for a life-size plaster cast of it at the Salon of 1889, MacMonnies cast Diana as a bronze statuette the following year. Here, the Roman goddess is represented as a huntress wearing a crescent-moon hairpiece. She balances athletically on one foot, having just released an arrow from the bow in her left hand. MacMonnies modeled Diana not as a perfect classical goddess but as an agile young woman, her face and body revealing the naturalism that became a hallmark of the sculptor’s style.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Diana
  • Artist: Frederick William MacMonnies (American, New York 1863–1937 New York)
  • Founder: Cast by E. Gruet
  • Date: 1888–89; cast 1890
  • Culture: American
  • Medium: Bronze
  • Dimensions: 30 3/4 x 12 1/4 x 12 1/4 in. (78.1 x 31.1 x 31.1 cm)
  • Credit Line: Gift of Edward D. Adams, 1927
  • Object Number: 27.21.9
  • Curatorial Department: The American Wing

More Artwork

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Young Faun with Heron, Frederick William MacMonnies American, Bronze, American
Young Faun with Heron
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1889–90, cast ca. 1902
Diana, Augustus Saint-Gaudens American, Bronze, gilt, American
Diana
Augustus Saint-Gaudens
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1892–93, cast 1928
Diana, Augustus Saint-Gaudens American, Bronze, American
Diana
Augustus Saint-Gaudens
E. Gruet
1893–94, cast 1894 or after
Cupid, Frederick William MacMonnies American, Ivory, lapis lazuli, marble, bloodstone, bronze, silver alloy, gold, translucent enamels, wood, American
Cupid
Frederick William MacMonnies
1898
Niagara, Frederick William MacMonnies American, Bronze and silver, American
Niagara
Frederick William MacMonnies
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