3701

Photograph of a plaster bust of Clytie

The Bust has CLYTIE written on the bottom. The marble bust was displayed by its maker George Frederic Watts at the RA in 1868 and it shows a character from Ovid's Metamorphoses iv. 204, 234-56. It has sister busts in plaster, bronze and terracotta. Clytie was a sea nymph that fell in love with Apollo as she watched him drive his chariot across the sky everyday and stood immovable for 9 days and 9 nights until on the 10th she was turned into a sunflower, that follows the path of the sun everyday. The bust shows her metamorphosis with leaves and petals beginning to envelope her body, following Michelangelo's non-finito style and is used to suggest the struggle to find spiritual light. The photo looks professional and the bust itself currently resides in the Guildhall Art Gallery.

1920 - 2010