La Ballarina is a sculpture that sits in a flower bed in the Royal Botanic Gardens. It was one of eight statues purchased for the new Palace Garden in 1883. La Ballarina was sculpted by Charles Summers, a successful Australian sculptor living in Carrara, Italy and was a copy of a work by Antonio Canova, which has since been lost. These Italian statues fell victim to changing attitudes that saw many of the more flagrant nudes removed in the 1910s and later destroyed as a 'menace to public morals'. Others were removed from public view in the 1970s when the mass replication of classical statuary in suburban gardens made the works seem 'low-brow'. The surviving statues were kept in the Stoneyard, known as the 'Graveyard', behind the Succulent Garden. La Ballarina was the first of the Italian marbles to be reconstructed with a new head, hand and foot sculpted by Polish-born mason Jacek Luszczyk from photos provided by the the Canova Foundation in Italy and unveilled in 2009.
Meravigliosa ed elegantissima :)
ReplyDeleteLovely picture!
ReplyDeleteA marvellous statue and a nice piece of culture!
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Thanks for sharing*******
What a beautiful sculpture and picture of it:)
ReplyDeleteSo charming!!! Beautiful shot of this Lady!
ReplyDeleteGlad to know that the sculpture survived. It is lovely.
ReplyDeleteThat's an interesting slice of art history, Jim. Globalization before the word was invented... an Aussie sculpting in Italy and reconstructed by a Pole.
ReplyDeleteThis was a statue of its time, Jim. Compare the style with that of Chifley yesterday. We have statues dotted everywhere in this city. They are incredibly valued by me, and others I suspect.
ReplyDeleteJulie, I only really started noticing we had so much great artwork around the city when I started photographing it. I think I appreciate the sculptures so much more when I know their history.
ReplyDeleteGreat to read and see she found such a nice place to think and dance. Please have a good Tuesday.
ReplyDeletedaily athens
You've reminded me that I've got some shots of this and a few others tucked away that I must use sooner or later.
ReplyDeleteI love her pose :) She seems so content - she obviously got an idea :)
ReplyDeletehttp://foto.rudenius.se/post/2010/09/14/My-World-e28093-In-the-sunshine.aspx
She's lovely, and Carrara marble? Wonderful.
ReplyDeleteKay
Alberta, Canada
Yes, Kay. They sourced the marble from the Carrara area from the quarry that Michelangelo sourced blocks of marble for his statue of 'David'.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful statue. The place chosen for it is perfect.
ReplyDeleteShe is a beauty!
ReplyDeleteSo graceful and lovely!
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely sculpture.
ReplyDeleteShe looks lovely, standing there :D
ReplyDeletegreat captures and story behind that sculpture...thanks for sharing...
ReplyDeleteMeravigliosa ed elegantissima :)
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing this beautiful photo
Have a nice week,
Greetings, Bram
My Word Tuesday post
Seen on My World Tuesday
That is so interesting I would never have thought this would happen to statues. She looks beauiful standing in the flower bed,
ReplyDeleteShe seems to wonder about her life as a sculpture ;-)
ReplyDeleteOne of the many great sculptures and statues you have been showing us. Thank you
ReplyDeleteI thought these things happened only to people when they had crazy society, religions or people around them. Interesting.
ReplyDeleteThat is a gorgeous statue! Makes for a beautiful photo!
ReplyDeleteJBar: That is beautiful art in the garden.
ReplyDeleteJBar: That is beautiful art in the garden.
ReplyDeleteIt's so pretty!
ReplyDeleteNice to see she is in good shape. Other statues in the garden has broken body parts. You've done a great photography job with this and yesterday's statues.
ReplyDeleteThe world has become very PC. I was "researching" into the Kookabura Song, and how in some parts of the world, the word Gay has been changed to Rich.
ReplyDeleteAnn, there was a school that made the news here recently because the principal changed the words to: Kookaburra "fun" your life must be.
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