CC0 · no rights reserved
Narcissa
From the collection of Smithsonian American Art Museum. Free to download, adapt and use — no permission needed.
About this work
Narcissa is one of many female nudes that Daniel Chester French produced during his long career. He based it on the Greek myth of the god Narcissus, who spurned the love of others and was so self-centered that the gods forced him to gaze endlessly at his own reflection in a pool of water. Unable to turn away from his image, Narcissus perished, and the gods turned him into the flower that bears his name. In French’s version, the woman holds a bowl of water that mirrors her face while she reaches up to touch the narcissus in her hair.
Smithsonian American Art Museum’s own descriptionSubjects
Credit lineNarcissa. modeled 1901. Daniel Chester French, born Exeter, NH 1850-died Stockbridge, MA 1931. Smithsonian American Art Museum, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of John Gellatly. CC0.
