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Abdiel

Marble bust of a young man seen in profile with a prominent nose and fine features. He wears an ornate greek warrior's helmet atop wavy locks of hair. At the base is a plate says "Abdiel."
CC0 Public Domain Designation

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  • Marble bust of a young man seen in profile with a prominent nose and fine features. He wears an ornate greek warrior's helmet atop wavy locks of hair. At the base is a plate says "Abdiel."

Date:

1838–43

Artist:

Horatio Greenough
American, 1805–1852

About this artwork

Horatio Greenough lived in Italy for most of his adult life and is recognized as the first American to pursue marble sculpting as a profession. This bust is one of two sculptures he produced depicting Abdiel, an angel from John Milton’s epic poem Paradise Lost. With his finely chiseled features, pronounced profile, and elaborately carved Greek warrior’s helmet, Abdiel resembles the Classical statue Apollo Belvedere. Through his production of idealist works such as Abdiel and his writings on aesthetics, Greenough sought to educate Americans about art and culture, and to inspire them to produce a national art that reflected democratic values.

Status

Currently Off View

Department

Arts of the Americas

Artist

Horatio Greenough (Sculptor)

Title

Abdiel

Place

United States (Artist's nationality:)

Date  Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

c. 1838–1843

Medium

Marble

Dimensions

H.: 61 cm (24 in.)

Credit Line

Gift of Elizabeth G. H. Bartol

Reference Number

1894.562

IIIF Manifest  The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world.

Learn more.

https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/819/manifest.json

Extended information about this artwork

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

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