Diana
For his only female nude, Saint-Gaudens selected Diana, the Roman goddess of the hunt and the moon, artfully aiming her bow and arrow. Poised on tiptoe, she is fleetingly static, depicted in a split-second moment of physical and narrative suspense. The figure's graceful, simplified lines, and elongated proportions reward from all angles, a nod to her original public function as a rotating weathervane for the tower of Madison Square Garden (demolished 1925), one of New York's most popular landmarks. The first, eighteen-foot-tall sculpture proved too large and was replaced in 1894 by a streamlined version, five feet shorter; this gilt cast is a half-size version of the second model.
"From this angle more than any other, I could imagine her flying."
—Bill T. Jones, choreographer and director
"She would've been a powerful sight as a weather vane: her body would follow the wind."
—Emmanuel von Schack, educator and ASL user
"There's a very pleasing amalgamation of lines and forms in this piece."
—Thayer Tolles, curator
All voices: Thayer Tolles, curator; Bill T. Jones, choreographer; Emmanuel von Schack, educator and ASL user
Transcripts: A Goddess Takes Aim (Video), Her Body in Motion (Video), A Timeless Replica (Video)