Pastoral
Marble sculpture by Edmond Amateis

Pastoral
Marble sculpture by Edmond Amateis
A girl stands looking down and holding in both hands a garland of flowers which falls at her back. Another smiling girl is seated behind her, over her form a drapery with a lightly incised floral pattern on the border. A rabbit at her feet lifts its head to complete the triangular outline. The interplay of flowing lines and the soft modulations of the forms are heightened by the rich passages of ornament. The group, originally called Mirafiore, was modeled at Rome during the summer of 1924.

Edmond Amateis
Born of American parents in Rome, Italy, on February 7th, 1897. His father, Louis Amateis, was a sculptor, architect, and teacher and came to the United States in 1883. He was the head of the department of fine arts at George Washington University, Washington, DC and founded the school of architecture there. The bronze doors for the west entrance to the Capitol are his work. Edmond received his early education in the public schools of Washington, DC. His studies at the Beaux-Arts Institute of Design, NY, begun in 1916 were broken by service in the 77th Field Artillery, 4th Division of the United States Army from April 1917 - August 1919. From among the wealth of sculptural styles which surrounded him, he was most drawn to the Italian Renaissance, leaving to his fellow the colder classic and severe archaic.

All images on this sculpting site were photographed, scanned and edited by Rod and Gail Lang. Information is obtained from "Brookgreen Gardens Sculpture" Volumes I and II. To obtain a copy of these magnificent books which provide photos and detail on hundreds of sculptures in Brookgreen Gardens call the gardens at 843-237-4218.