"Aurora"

Dateca. 1820

MediumWatercolor and gold paper collage on silk

Dimensions14 1/2" x 14 1/4" (37.0 cm. x 36.5 cm.) silk primary support only. 18 3/16" x 18 1/8" framed.

Credit LineGift of the Museum of Modern Art

Object number1937.401.2

DescriptionBody of water runs through the middle ground of the picture, with a sailing ship on it to the left of center. In the clouds above, a red gold-spangled chariot is drawn by two large brown birds with gold tipped tails and wings. In the chariot sits a female figure dressed in flowing white gown with yellow drapery. Above and around her are four winged cherubs or putti. In the foreground of the picture is a green bank with trees and bushes; in the background, on the distant shore, 6 buildings are visible on a green bank with more trees.

Label TextCalled "Chariot in the Clouds" in the 1920s, this picture was more narrowly defined in the 1950s as "Venus Drawn by Doves," a reference to the subject's historical role as the guardian of ocean travelers. The dove was one of Venus's special attributes, and she was usually attended by Cupid, her son. The later discovery of three similar compositions with printed verses identifying the figure as Aurora, goddess of the dawn, however, prompted yet another title change. Recently, an additional example was found, prompting speculation that the like compositions were the product of an academic exercise where a common print source was used as a compositional guide for artists.ProvenanceFound in Quincy, Massachusetts; purchased from Bessie J. Howard, Boston, Mass., by Abby Aldrich Rockefeller; given by the latter to the Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY, in 1939; given by the MoMA to CWF in June 1954.