Olivia
As the Industrial Revolution relocated common workplaces beyond the confines of the home, establishing a separation between the occupational and familial spheres, household order evolved. Responsible, more than ever, for the rearing of the children, women were expected to cultivate noble values. This new phenomenon was inextricably linked to the rise of the middle class. Women of this rising social tier sought to emulate values of the Cult of Domesticity: piety, purity, submission, and domesticity. Sentimentalism celebrated this return to the family values that promoted honesty and simplicity. Laying bare the true value of women in society, sentimentalism championed mothers as the ultimate influencers of America’s future. Harriet Hosmer had this intent as she referenced the popular tale of the Roman woman Beatrice Cenci. As the story goes, Beatrice, after both experiencing and witnessing her father’s abuse of her family, rose to challenge him, ultimately killing her assailant. Hosmer’s sculpture, a marble resemblance of Beatrice Cenci, depicts its namesake as she rests quietly on a prison bench. Lost in thought, the subject fingers rosary beads, perhaps recalling her sins. In response to the sentimentalist thought of the era, Hosmer radically proposes that this murder, an act of violence customarily scorned, is truly a symbol of selflessness. Placing the needs of both her mother and her brother above her own future, the heroine of the tale embodies the values of sentimentalism. The beauty of the sculpture, the serene facial expression, the delicate bend of the arm, the gentle folds of fabric, all glorify rather than condemn the woman, endorsing Beatrice’s love and devotion to her family.
Works Cited
Miller, Angela, et al. American Encounters: Art, History, and Cultural Identity. London: Prentice Hall, 2008. 171 – 175.
Images Cited
“Beatrice Cenci by Harriet Hosmer.” University of Missouri – St. Louis. n.d. 12 November 2012.
<http://gallery.umsl.edu/v/Mercantile/Fine+Art+Collection/portraits/02_hosmer_beatrice_recto.jpg.html>.
As the Industrial Revolution relocated common workplaces beyond the confines of the home, establishing a separation between the occupational and familial spheres, household order evolved. Responsible, more than ever, for the rearing of the children, women were expected to cultivate noble values. This new phenomenon was inextricably linked to the rise of the middle class. Women of this rising social tier sought to emulate values of the Cult of Domesticity: piety, purity, submission, and domesticity. Sentimentalism celebrated this return to the family values that promoted honesty and simplicity. Laying bare the true value of women in society, sentimentalism championed mothers as the ultimate influencers of America’s future. Harriet Hosmer had this intent as she referenced the popular tale of the Roman woman Beatrice Cenci. As the story goes, Beatrice, after both experiencing and witnessing her father’s abuse of her family, rose to challenge him, ultimately killing her assailant. Hosmer’s sculpture, a marble resemblance of Beatrice Cenci, depicts its namesake as she rests quietly on a prison bench. Lost in thought, the subject fingers rosary beads, perhaps recalling her sins. In response to the sentimentalist thought of the era, Hosmer radically proposes that this murder, an act of violence customarily scorned, is truly a symbol of selflessness. Placing the needs of both her mother and her brother above her own future, the heroine of the tale embodies the values of sentimentalism. The beauty of the sculpture, the serene facial expression, the delicate bend of the arm, the gentle folds of fabric, all glorify rather than condemn the woman, endorsing Beatrice’s love and devotion to her family.
Works Cited
Miller, Angela, et al. American Encounters: Art, History, and Cultural Identity. London: Prentice Hall, 2008. 171 – 175.
Images Cited
“Beatrice Cenci by Harriet Hosmer.” University of Missouri – St. Louis. n.d. 12 November 2012.
<http://gallery.umsl.edu/v/Mercantile/Fine+Art+Collection/portraits/02_hosmer_beatrice_recto.jpg.html>.