GENERAL DESCRIPTION
A radiant crown of bright sunbeams draws our eyes toward the fierce gaze of the handsome, beardless Sun god, Helios. The ancient poet Homer described how the mighty titan Helios "shines upon men and deathless gods, and piercingly he gazes with his eyes from his golden helmet. Bright rays beam dazzlingly from him, and his bright locks streaming from the temples of his head gracefully enclose his far-seen face."
Donald De Lue translated Homer's verse into sculptural form using a theme that appealed to his lifelong fascination with ancient Greek and Roman mythology. Rather than create mythological portraits, De Lue imbued his figures with classical references. Helios, therefore is not Apollo, but a more general symbolic representation of the sun god of Greek myth.
This figure is one of the artist's most beautiful early sculptures. It marks a turning point in De Lue's working method, as it is the last one that he modeled in French clay and cast in plaster himself. The final bronze version of Sun God (Helios) was De Lue's first publicly exhibited sculpture.
Adapted from
- Olivier Meslay, DMA Label copy (1997.20), February 2011.
- Eleanor Jones Harvey, DMA Acquisition proposal (1997.20), May 1997.
NOTES
This note was tagged #routed in June 2015 and Sue's revisions (in a Word doc created by ASG) have been applied to the note as of October 2015. As of January 2017 I am adding the #draft tag to this note so that it is harvested to Google Drive. Once I am sure that all pending TMS or Piction data entry is complete, I will remove the #routed tag, add the #complete tag, and move the Google Doc to Queta's folder so that it is not re-routed to Sue.
The spelling of the artist's last name was not consistent for his two works in the DMA collection. There was a change form signed by Sue (and dated September 2011?) that inserted a space in his last name. When I consulted ULAN, Smithsonian American Art Museum, gallery sites, and the 1990 monograph on the artist, his last name is spelled "De Lue." I have used this spelling in both object drafts and the artist's biographical CC. I changed the spelling in TMS to be consistent. I notified Brian that this spelling should be inserted into the text presently appearing online as the public text.
I reformatted the two existing exhibition history records.
I changed classification from "sculpture- coins, medallions, plaques" to "sculpture."
Catalogue essays specific to object
Artist/designers
Cultures
Geography
Place of origin- Boston
Process/materials
patinated
plaster
modeled
clay
Historical periods
Individuals
Subject terms
sculpture
crown
sunbeams
gaze
god
Homer
titan
mythology
metallic
nude
man
clouds
Art Deco
RELATED OBJECTS
PROVENANCE
1937- d. 1988: Donald De Lue (1897-1988)
1988-1997: Estate of Donald De Lue, Child Gallery, Boston, MA
From 1997: Dallas Museum of Art, gift from the above
AUDIO ASSETS
VIDEO ASSETS
IMAGE ASSETS
WEB RESOURCES
ARCHIVAL RESOURCES
FUN FACTS
- Donald De Lue's historical inspiration came from both literature and sculpture. De Lue modeled the head of Helios after a Greek kouros.
- Though this work is not a depiction of Apollo, the Greek god and Helios both drove a horse-drawn chariot across the sky to lead the sun on its daily cycle.
- In 1975, De Lue returned to his figure of Helios as part of a four-figure arrangement for the unbuilt Poseidon Fountain in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
TEACHING IDEAS
RULES
Apply to objects where number equals 1997.20
Category
rules_operator
AND
General Description
A radiant crown of bright sunbeams draws our eyes toward the fierce gaze of the handsome, beardless Sun god, Helios. The ancient poet Homer described how the mighty titan Helios "shines upon men and deathless gods, and piercingly he gazes with his eyes from his golden helmet. Bright rays beam dazzlingly from him, and his bright locks streaming from the temples of his head gracefully enclose his far-seen face."
Donald De Lue translated Homer's verse into sculptural form using a theme that appealed to his lifelong fascination with ancient Greek and Roman mythology. Rather than create mythological portraits, De Lue imbued his figures with classical references. Helios, therefore is not Apollo, but a more general symbolic representation of the sun god of Greek myth.
This figure is one of the artist's most beautiful early sculptures. It marks a turning point in De Lue's working method, as it is the last one that he modeled in French clay and cast in plaster himself. The final bronze version of Sun God (Helios) was De Lue's first publicly exhibited sculpture.
Adapted from
- Olivier Meslay, DMA Label copy (1997.20), February 2011.
- Eleanor Jones Harvey, DMA Acquisition proposal (1997.20), May 1997.
Fun Facts
- Donald De Lue's historical inspiration came from both literature and sculpture. De Lue modeled the head of Helios after a Greek kouros.
- Though this work is not a depiction of Apollo, the Greek god and Helios both drove a horse-drawn chariot across the sky to lead the sun on its daily cycle.
- In 1975, De Lue returned to his figure of Helios as part of a four-figure arrangement for the unbuilt Poseidon Fountain in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Archival Resources
Web Resources
Notes
This note was tagged #routed in June 2015 and Sue's revisions (in a Word doc created by ASG) have been applied to the note as of October 2015. As of January 2017 I am adding the #draft tag to this note so that it is harvested to Google Drive. Once I am sure that all pending TMS or Piction data entry is complete, I will remove the #routed tag, add the #complete tag, and move the Google Doc to Queta's folder so that it is not re-routed to Sue.
The spelling of the artist's last name was not consistent for his two works in the DMA collection. There was a change form signed by Sue (and dated September 2011?) that inserted a space in his last name. When I consulted ULAN, Smithsonian American Art Museum, gallery sites, and the 1990 monograph on the artist, his last name is spelled "De Lue." I have used this spelling in both object drafts and the artist's biographical CC. I changed the spelling in TMS to be consistent. I notified Brian that this spelling should be inserted into the text presently appearing online as the public text.
I reformatted the two existing exhibition history records.
I changed classification from "sculpture- coins, medallions, plaques" to "sculpture."
Catalogue essays specific to object
Artist/designers
Cultures
Geography
Place of origin- Boston
Process/materials
patinated
plaster
modeled
clay
Historical periods
Individuals
Subject terms
sculpture
crown
sunbeams
gaze
god
Homer
titan
mythology
metallic
nude
man
clouds
Art Deco
RELATED OBJECTS
PROVENANCE
1937- d. 1988: Donald De Lue (1897-1988)
1988-1997: Estate of Donald De Lue, Child Gallery, Boston, MA
From 1997: Dallas Museum of Art, gift from the above
AUDIO ASSETS
VIDEO ASSETS
rules
Apply To
Objects
number
Equals
1997.20
source file
object_notes_3_c-0315.xml.nores