Young Woman 1470 - 1480

Curator: Today, we’re examining “Young Woman,” a marble sculpture attributed to Francesco Laurana, crafted between 1470 and 1480. It’s currently housed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Editor: Its cool, smooth surface is instantly calming. The symmetry is almost unnerving, giving it a mask-like quality, especially around the closed eyes. The scale is intimate, drawing you in. Curator: Laurana, during the Renaissance, particularly focused on the ideal form of women. The closed eyes—although perhaps a condition of the piece’s age—symbolize purity, virtue, and a dreamlike interior world divorced from worldly concerns. It taps into a specific archetype of feminine beauty from that era. Editor: I agree about the sense of inner-directedness, though I wouldn’t focus solely on the Renaissance ideal. Looking at the composition itself, the unbroken lines from the forehead to the chin create an ovoid shape. Even the drape of what I assume is her hair emphasizes a harmonious curve that encloses her in quiet self-containment. It’s less about the representation and more about this feeling of completion. Curator: The fact it is made from marble, a valued stone from classical times, tells us about the aspiration to associate this beauty to classical beauty from antiquity, therefore suggesting an ideal transcending epochs. Editor: Indeed. It’s that stark white and almost waxy finish of the marble that enhances the statue’s coolness. The lack of ornamentation keeps you locked into the structure of her face, those sharp cheekbones, the pursed lips, making the formal qualities the ultimate message. Curator: Consider also what is missing – we’re not shown clothes or any jewels, no indications of the external markers of rank or familial ties, or anything material really. The sculptor draws attention to a certain set of ideals. And even today, the symbolism lingers. Editor: So, we have a work that compels the viewer to meditate on line and form. I was originally quite put off by the broken nose, but then it felt integral, even, by interrupting the perfect composition and rendering her real. A meditation on perfection, interrupted by an imperfection. Curator: Exactly. It is a tangible link to both past beauty, present time, and timeless symbolic importance of classical icons.