Joseph Mozier (1812 - 1870) “Il pensero” marble sculpture dated 1866

Large marble sculpture with its Louis XVI style base, also in marble.
Dated 186(6) and signed. J Mozier Sc.
A slightly larger version is on display at the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington, D.C., USA, acquired through a transfer from the U.S. Capitol.

Dimensions without base : Height 144 cm Diameter 43cm
Dimensions with base: Height 223.5cm Diameter 56cm

Joseph Moziers' sculpture takes its inspiration from the allegory of Melancholy, borrowed from John Milton's poem Il Penseroso (1632). The protagonist of Milton's poem, the Thinker, embodies both the dark melancholy that weighs down his victims of depression and the luminous melancholy that stimulates the imagination of poets.

This melancholy has both masculine and feminine traits, both dark and bright. Mozier's master, the American sculptor Hiram Powers, had transformed the genre of allegorical figures for a work entitled La Penserosa, and the young artist fashioned his creation after Powers' version.

Investigations have failed to clarify why he gave this work a male title. Mozier's figure is dressed in classical garb, symbolizing the brilliant muse of melancholy, whose talents inspired the poets of Greece and Rome. She maintains her usual attitude, raising her eyes to the sky instead of looking down at the soiled earth, with a heavy expression directed downwards.

Joseph Mozier (August 22, 1812 - October 3, 1870) was an American sculptor active in Italy. He was born in Burlington, Vermont, in 1812. In 1831, he moved to New York, where he worked as a dealer. He retired from business around 1845 and soon afterwards went to Europe, where he studied sculpture for several years in Florence, before settling in Rome.
He won the Grand Prix de Rome in 1867 with his famous sculpture “Undine”.