Constancy

Maker Agostino Testa (Italian, 1662 - 1735)

Collections

Outdoor Sculptures

ClassificationsSCULPTURE

Datelate 17th Century

Mediumlimestone

Dimensions81 1/2 × 31 × 22 in. (207 × 78.7 × 55.9 cm.) base: 18 1/2 × 27 × 27 in. (47 × 68.6 × 68.6 cm.) overall: 100 × 32 × 27 in. (254 × 81.3 × 68.6 cm.)

DescriptionThe figure is described in the 1918 sale catalogue from the American Art Association as a "standing figure of a youth with long curling hair. He wears a close-fitting plumed helmet, a cuirass and greaves, and his feet are bare. He holds his right arm behind his back, while his left hand is held in the flame of a flaming urn which stands at his side. On rectangular base and original incurved pedestal." The allegorical representation of Constancy is depicted with a hand over a flaming brazier. The image refers to the fearlessness of the Roman, Mucius Scaevola, who put his right hand in the fire to show Porsenna that he did not fear him (Livy, II, 12). It was a popular image in Counter-Reformation Italy, as a testament to the constancy of the patron's religious beliefs. The Huntington's image also is represented in armor further symbolizing Constancy's righteousness and unshakable faith.

Credit LineThe Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens

Status

On view

Object number20.43