Research Paper On Angel Of The Waters

Angel of the Waters, sculpted by Emma Stebbins, was originally created in Rome, from 1861 until its completion in 1868. Deliveries of Stebbins' bronze figure were twice delayed - first by the Franco-Prussian War and then by difficulties in New York (MacLean). The statue was finally dedicated on May 31, 1873 at Bethesda Terrace in Central Park, New York City. The sculpture its self is made of bronze standing at twenty-five feet high. Angel of the Waters is standing on top of the upper basin of a fountain know as Bethesda Fountain. The upper and lower basin consists of blue stone which includes four cherubs that surround the center column; the fountain is placed within the center of a pool that is made of granite and is ninety-six feet in diameter

John 5:2-4, “ Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, which is called in Hebrew, Bethesda, having five porches. In these lay a great multitude of sick people… waiting for the moving of the water. For an angel went down at a certain time into the pool and stirred up the water; then whoever stepped in first, after the stirring of the water, was made well of whatever disease he had” (BibleGateway). Stebbins used this scripture very specifically to celebrate the much needed clean water that New York received from the Croton Aqueduct (MacLean). This is the very reason that an angel is sitting atop a water

Apollo and Daphne is a Greek mythological story about the sun god Apollo who was perusing a nymph, Daphne, who had power over nature. Running from Apollo, Daphne asks her father (Peneus) to help her escape; thus, turning her into a tree. Apollo and Daphne is a life size, eight foot tall, marble statue (rome.info). Apollo and Daphne was sculpted two decades before Angel of the Waters between 1622 and 1625. The statue is located in the Galleria Borghese, Rome. Angel of the Waters and Apollo and Daphne have a lot of similarities. To begin, they both have an organic shape with the natural appearance of a human figure as the focal point. The implied motion of Daphne trying to escape is similar to the angel flying down upon the fountain. Both statues have actual mass and vertical balance. In Contrast, Angel of the Waters is bronze standing twenty-five feet high; whereas, Apollo and Daphne is marble standing at only eight feet high. Artists would express this as hierarchal scaling showing the importance of one over the other. Apollo and Daphne evoke more of a sense of fear. The expression on Daphne’s face implies sheer panic and she tries to escape Apollo’s grasp; she is led to a last resort of calling upon her father for help. Her hands and feet are shown with the beginning of her demise turning into a tree; Bernini successfully captures the terror in her eyes. To compare, Angel of