Janet Scudder (American, 1873–1940). <em>Seated Faun</em>, 1924. Bronze, 38 x 14 3/8 x 18 1/4 in. (96.5 x 36.5 x 46.4 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Robert B. Woodward Memorial Fund, 26.184 (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 26.184_front_PS1.jpg)

Janet Scudder (American, 1873–1940). Seated Faun, 1924. Bronze, 38 x 14 3/8 x 18 1/4 in. (96.5 x 36.5 x 46.4 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Robert B. Woodward Memorial Fund, 26.184 (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 26.184_front_PS1.jpg)

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LOL whaaaat?!

That is a sculpture of a 'Seated Faun' - a faun is a mythical being from ancient Greece that is half-human (the top half, with the addition of goat horns), half-goat (the bottom half).

This sculpture, completed by the American artist Janet Scudder in 1924, is an example of a period during American art history called Neoclassicism when Americans were looking back and basing art on the art of Classical Greece and Rome.

Why?

Neoclassical artists wanted to make a "true style" that could be used across all areas of the visual arts. People looked to the art of ancient Greece and Rome for the simplicity, harmony and proportions. This art was thought to be 'supreme' over other styles and so artists of the 19th and 20th centuries based what they were doing off of Classical art.

I feel this one is very special. What he is doing here?

Janet Scudder's "Seated Faun" shows us a mythological figure -- a faun is half-boy, half-goat and plays the pipes. Scudder made many sculptures for outdoor fountains and other garden displays.

Scudder was working at a time when few women were represented in American sculpture and when they were, they were pigeon-holed into producing small-scale figures of women and children, while men got the majority of the "important" large sculptural commissions for monuments and public buildings.

This is cool.

We're glad you like it! The artist was looking back on subjects from classical Greece and Rome for inspiration in the subject and the style. A faun is half-human and half-goat. You can see its little horns peeking out from its hair if you look closely.

What is this sculpture made out of?

This Seated Faun is made of bronze.

The molten bronze would have been cast in a mold. The surface was likely then treated with potassium sulfide to achieve this dark color.

Seated Faun

Janet Scudder

American Art

In Seated Faun, Janet Scudder took as inspiration the part-human, part-goat figure found in classical mythology. One of only a handful of internationally known female sculptors in America at the time, Scudder studied in Paris and became the first woman employed at the Paris studio of the sculptor Frederick MacMonnies.

She later made a name for herself crafting ornamental sculptures for the formal gardens of estates designed by the architect Stanford White. Admired by White, whose firm designed the Brooklyn Museum, Scudder was even selected as the only female to produce a sculpture, Japanese Art, for the Museum’s facade.

ARTIST Janet Scudder, American, 1873–1940

MEDIUM Bronze

DATES 1924

DIMENSIONS 38 x 14 3/8 x 18 1/4 in. (96.5 x 36.5 x 46.4 cm) (show scale)

MARKINGS Incised along bottom of base, back side at proper right corner: "Alexis Rudier / Fondeur Paris"

SIGNATURE Incised along bottom of base, proper right side, in script: "Janet Scudder / 1924"

COLLECTIONS American Art

ACCESSION NUMBER 26.184

CREDIT LINE Robert B. Woodward Memorial Fund

CATALOGUE DESCRIPTION Statue of young faun seated on a lion skin draped over a square pedestal; he is playing two single pipes, one pipe held in each hand, and has legs crossed at ankles. Condition: Good, areas on body of green patina.

EXHIBITIONS

MUSEUM LOCATION This item is not on view

CAPTION Janet Scudder (American, 1873–1940). Seated Faun, 1924. Bronze, 38 x 14 3/8 x 18 1/4 in. (96.5 x 36.5 x 46.4 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Robert B. Woodward Memorial Fund, 26.184 (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 26.184_front_PS1.jpg)

IMAGE front, 26.184_front_PS1.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph, 2006

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