Antigone Pouring a Libation over the Corpse of Her Brother Polynices

Antigone Pouring a Libation over the Corpse of Her Brother Polynices

William Henry Rinehart

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Rinehart's sculpture represents a climactic scene from Sophocles's tragedy, "Antigone," written in or before 442 B.C. Antigone's brother, Polynices, was killed by Eteokles, and then denied a proper burial because he was considered an enemy of Thebes. Against the orders of the new ruler, Creon, Antigone courageously interred Polynices. Rinehart chose to depict the moment when she pours libations over her brother's grave, thereby stressing to the viewer the importance of fighting against tyranny for one's civil liberties. Of all Rinehart's sculptures, Antigone may be the most closely related to antique prototypes, showing an affinity with a draped figure once in the Vescovali collection in Rome.

The American Wing

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Antigone Pouring a Libation over the Corpse of Her Brother PolynicesAntigone Pouring a Libation over the Corpse of Her Brother PolynicesAntigone Pouring a Libation over the Corpse of Her Brother PolynicesAntigone Pouring a Libation over the Corpse of Her Brother PolynicesAntigone Pouring a Libation over the Corpse of Her Brother Polynices

The American Wing's ever-evolving collection comprises some 20,000 works of art by African American, Euro American, Latin American, and Native American men and women. Ranging from the colonial to early-modern periods, the holdings include painting, sculpture, works on paper, and decorative arts—including furniture, textiles, ceramics, glass, silver, metalwork, jewelry, basketry, quill and bead embroidery—as well as historical interiors and architectural fragments.