Flora and Zephyr

Flora and Zephyr Marble figurative group made by the Italian sculptor Giovanni Maria Benzoni (1809–1873). A native of the Bergamo area, he was educated in Rome, where he established a sculpture studio and settled forever. Benzoni created in the Classicist style, referring to Antonio Canova, as for example in the case of the Flora and Zephyr group, sculpted in Rome in 1861. The sculpture kept in Łańcut is one of five replicas of this work. It is inspired by a mythological theme and depicts a dancing couple: a young man and a young woman, who personify Zephyr, the god of the west wind, and Flora, the Roman goddess of spring and flowers. In Ovid’s work, Flora is identified with the Greek goddess Chloris, whom Zephyr loved and married. Flora is depicted as a young woman with a flower crown on her head. The sculpture kept in Łańcut shows Flora and Zephyr in characteristic dancing poses. The young man leans towards his partner, supporting her torso leaning backwards with his left hand. The dancers’ right hands join above their heads. The arrangement of the legs of both figures, crossed by extending their respective outer legs inwards, is similar. Heads are facing each other, tilted sideways in opposite directions. Their facial features are idealised. Zephyr’s long hair, twisted into curls, wave back. In the case of Flora, the locks of hair are tied up in a bun, and the wreath with flowers is attached to the wavy front strands. Flora is dressed in an antiqued, transparent robe. At the back of the dancing couple, there is a basket filled with a bouquet of flowers. Barbara Trojnar