Goddess of Hope

myminifactory

As a neo-classicist, Thorvaldsen was generally inspired by the art of Antiquity, more particularly by the naturalistic classical style. However, in 1817 he undertook to restore some older pre-classical sculptures, and although the rather stiff, so-called archaic style of these sculptures was far removed from him, it made its mark on the sculpture he himself was working on at the time, that is to say The Goddess of Hope. This is the explanation for the static character of this sculpture and for its unusually consistent frontal quality, its symmetry and its high degree of stylisation. In her hand, the goddess is holding a pomegranate flower, the symbol of fertility and eternal life.