Bust of Abdiel

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Abdiel was meticulously documented using 214 photographs at the renowned Art Institute of Chicago. A precise digital model of him was created using Reality Capture and refined in Sculptris to produce a highly detailed representation. A new base was carefully crafted in Blender and seamlessly merged with Abdiel's existing structure. http://www.artic.edu/aic/collections/artwork/819 According to the informative card displayed at the museum, Horatio Greenough, an American artist born in 1805, created Abdiel between 1838 and 1843. The bust is crafted from marble and represents one of two sculptures produced by Greenough depicting Abdiel, a notable angel from John Milton's epic poem Paradise Lost. Greenough spent the majority of his adult life in Italy, where he established himself as the first American to pursue marble sculpting as a profession. This iconic bust showcases Abdiel's finely chiseled features and elaborately carved Greek warrior's helmet, drawing striking similarities with the Classical statue Apollo Belvedere. Through his artistic endeavors, including Abdiel, and writings on aesthetics, Greenough aimed to educate Americans about art and culture, inspiring them to produce a national art form that embodied democratic values. The sculpture was generously gifted by Elizabeth G. H. Bartol in 1894 and bears the accession number 1894.562.