Ruth Gleaning

Randolph Rogers

1850; carved 1855 or 1856 · Marble · The American Wing

In 1848, Rogers settled permanently in Italy, where he became a prominent member of the Roman art community. "Ruth Gleaning," his first large-scale biblical subject, depicts the moment in the Old Testament book of Ruth (2:1–13) when the Moabite woman kneels to glean grain in the field of her future husband, Boaz. Rogers drew inspiration for the pose from sculptures by his Florentine teacher Lorenzo Bartolini as well as from Greek and Roman prototypes, notably the "Kneeling Venus" at the Vatican. While Ruth’s idealized facial features and simplified hairstyle are highly classicized, the precise depiction of the stalks of grain and the foliage underfoot responds to a Victorian predilection for realistic anecdotal detail.

Artist

Randolph Rogers

Date

1850; carved 1855 or 1856

Medium

Marble

Culture

American

Department

The American Wing

Credit line

Gift of James Douglas, 1899