Skip to main content
(c) 2022 Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston
Cherub Head
(c) 2022 Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston
(c) 2022 Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston

Cherub Head

sculptor
Datelate 18th century
Place MadeSpain, Europe
MediumWood
Dimensions10.2 x 15.2 x 7.6 cm (4 x 6 x 3 in.)
ClassificationsSculpture
Credit LineIsabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston
Accession numberS6e2
Status
Not on view
Web CommentaryIsabella Stewart Gardner’s enthusiasm for Spanish culture was legendary. She was also fascinated with the art and culture of other Spanish-speaking regions including Central America. In 1872, Theodore Frelinghuysen Dwight (1846-1917)— a writer, employee of Putnam and Sons publishing house, and later the director of the Boston Public Library—stopped in Panama on a journey from California to New York. He visited the cathedral of Santa Maria la Antigua, which had been damaged by a fire in 1870 and was closed to the public. Dwight persuaded its custodian to allow him entry, despite the building’s perilous condition and his fear that “at any moment the roof would fall.” Among the debris at floor level were pieces of the ceiling decoration. The custodian permitted him to keep two carved wooden heads and a piece of the ceiling molding. The carvings depict cherubs, winged angelic beings described in biblical tradition as attending on God.In 1915, Dwight recalled the visit in a letter to Gardner and donated the three pieces of sculpture to her museum. Gardner installed them in the Spanish Chapel where the carvings form a decorative frieze, providing a suitable complement to the Spanish works of art and religious setting.
Id728724
Last Updated8/14/24
EmbARK ObjectID11311
Source ID543
(c) 2022 Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston
Unknown
late 18th century
(c) 2022 Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston
Unknown
late 18th century
(c) 2019 Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston
Unknown
17th century
(c) 2017 Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston
Unknown
1450-1499
(c) 2016 Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston
Unknown
about 1450-1499
Grotesque Stone Head
Unknown
17th century
Head of an Angel
Unknown
after 1480
(c) 2020 Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston
Unknown
1450-1500
(c) 2018 Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston
Unknown
about 1400
(c) 2015 Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston
Unknown
19th century