Rebecca at the Well
Artist
Joseph Mozier
(American, 1812-1890)
CultureAmerican
Date1855
MediumMarble
DimensionsOverall: 59 x 19 3/8 x 16 1/2 in. (149.9 x 49.2 x 41.9 cm)
Credit LineGift of James H. Ricau and Museum purchase
Object number86.492
Not on view
DescriptionMarble standing figure of a woman with a pitcher on her shoulder.Label TextJoseph Mozier American (1812-1870) Rebecca at the Well, modeled ca. 1857, carved 1868 Marble Gift of James H. Ricau and Museum purchase 86.492 A perennially popular figure among American neoclassic sculptors, the Old Testament heroine Rebecca was the wife of Isaac and mother of Jacob and Esau. As told in Genesis (24: 1-28), Abraham's servant Eliezer travels to the city of Nahor to seek a wife for his master's son Isaac. There, kneeling beside a well, Eliezer prays that the first woman who gives him a drink from her pitcher will be the bride God has chosen for Isaac. He then meets Rebecca, who bids him drink and thus reveals herself as Isaac's divinely-chosen mate. Mozier's handsome, statuesque Rebecca illustrates his rather heavy, stalwart figure style and his taste for broadly massed drapery patterns. A native of Burlington, Vermont, the young Joseph Mozier built a prosperous career as a New York City merchant. But in 1845 he abandoned his business interests and sailed to Italy to become a sculptor. After studying and working in Florence, Mozier settled in Rome around 1850, where he lived and worked for the rest of his life. Exhibition History"The Ricau Collection," The Chrysler Museum, Norfolk, Va., February 26 - April 23, 1989.
Joseph Gott
