Fragilina
In addition to his public monuments, Piccirilli carved an uncommissioned series of idealized female nudes. Fragilina is simplified, almost abstract, in form. The head is ovoid, with little articulation in the hair and face, and the eyes appear veiled in stone. According to the sculptor, “[e]very person has his own ideal of beauty stored away in his subconscious mind. When facial characteristics are precisely delineated, the observer is denied the opportunity of personally visualizing his ideal type.”
Artwork Details
- Title: Fragilina
- Artist: Attilio Piccirilli (American (born Italy), Massa Carrara 1866–1945 New York)
- Date: 1923
- Culture: American
- Medium: Marble
- Dimensions: 48 1/2 x 15 1/2 x 25 in. (123.2 x 39.4 x 63.5 cm)
- Credit Line: Rogers Fund, 1926
- Object Number: 26.113
- Curatorial Department: The American Wing
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Attilio Piccirilli
1912–13, cast by 1918
Leslie Garland Bolling
1936
Frances Grimes
1916, carved 1916–17
Furio Piccirilli
1927
Frances Grimes
1916–17
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