Flora
Cultureprobably
Northern Italian
Date1700s
Mediummarble
Dimensions66.5 x 64.8 x 38.6 cm (26 3/16 x 25 1/2 x 15 3/16 in.)
ClassificationsSculpture
Credit LineEdward Davis Thayer Fund
Object number1968.53
Label TextBecause of the flowers in her hair, this figure traditionally has been identified as Flora, the Roman goddess of flowers. The popularity of this subject in Venice suggests that this sculpture could have been commissioned by a Venetian. The combination of coarse and polished surfaces, the strong value contrasts created by the bold undercutting, and the relaxed attitude conveyed by the turning of the head are all characteristic of the period.
Filippo Parodi received his early training in Genoa, the city of his birth, and in Rome, probably under Ercole Ferrata, a close follower of Bernini. Parodi worked primarily in the northern Italian cities of Padua, Genoa, and Venice. Flora appears to be a work from the later period of Parodi's life.
ProvenanceMuseum purchase from N.H. Alvise Barozzi, Galleria Palazzo Barbarigo, Venice, Italy.On View
Not on view
