“Satyress” by Norman Lindsay
“Satyress” by Norman Lindsay dates from the late 1940s and can be found at the Norman Lindsay Gallery and Museum Gardens. On the track down to the swimming pool, there are two figures which guard the entry to the northern side of the property. One of the figures is a cement figure a Satyress and opposite the Satyr is a Sphinx.
A Satyress is a female equivalent to a satyr, depicted with a human head and torso, generally including bare breasts, but the body of a goat from the waist down. They were a late invention by poets and artists and are comparatively rare in classical art. Such a creature may also be known as a fauness. Not often portrayed compared to the depictions of male satyrs and centaurs, the satyress figure was known to Renaissance artists and today is more common in modern fantasy art.
The Satyress is one of many sculptures in the garden of the Norman Lindsay Gallery and Museum. All were made by Norman Lindsay of concrete, on a metal frame. In the 1980’s many of the concrete sculptures were copied to protect them from environmental and physical damage. The copies were made of bronze, and the original works were moved inside the gallery. The sculptures were not given formal names by Lindsay, so the titles are simply descriptive.
Norman Lindsay was an Australian artist, etcher, sculptor, writer, editorial cartoonist, and scale modeller. Lindsay is regarded as one of Australia’s most celebrated artists, producing a vast body of work in different media.
Satyress
- Museums: Seahorse Fountain
- Created: 1940’s
- Artist: Norman Lindsay
- Museum: Norman Lindsay Gallery and Museum
Norman Lindsay
- Name: Norman Alfred William Lindsay
- Born: 1879 – Creswick, Victoria
- Died: 1969 (aged 90) – Sydney, New South Wales
- Nationality: Australian
- Notable Works:
- Seahorse Fountain
- Satyress
- Sphinx
~~~
“The best love affairs are those we never had.”
– Norman Lindsay
~~~
Photo Credit: By Tatyana Temirbulatova from Sydney, Australia (Norman Lindsay House Uploaded by berichard) [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons