Chiara
Artist
Judith Shea
(American, born 1948)
Date2000-2002
MediumWood, bronze and hair
DimensionsOverall: 20 × 16 × 10 inches (50.8 × 40.64 × 25.4 cm)
Credit LinePurchase: gift of the artist and Marc and Elizabeth Wilson
Object number2006.39
On View
Not on viewCollections
Description"Chiara" depicts the bust of a woman and the sculpture is a combination of wood, bronze and human hair. Her eyes are downcast and barely open, and her features include a high forehead, well-defined cheekbones, an aquiline nose and delicate lips. Her thick shock of blonde hair is roughly cut. Her rounded shoulders and breast are carefully sculpted and are perfectly wed to the concentric, circular patterns of the wood.Gallery LabelChiara, whose name means “light” in Italian, refers to Saint Clare of Assisi (1194–1253). In 1212, together with Saint Francis of Assisi, she founded the contemplative Order of Saint Clare, an order for nuns dedicated to holiness and extreme poverty. Chiara’s humble gaze, unkempt hair and simple, wooden bust underscore these virtues. In this sculpture, Judith Shea has united her childhood memories of cathedrals filled with sculptures of saints, her adult encounters with Mexican bultos (wooden folk carvings of saints) and her passion for Gian Lorenzo Bernini’s deeply emotive 17th-century religious sculptures.
Copyright© Judith Shea
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