The first day of Summer, June 20, is the time to celebrate the attributes of the goddesses of Summer. Aine, the Celtic goddess of Summer, represents love, beauty, fertility, and the radiance of the Sun. Saule, the Baltic goddess of Summer, also is associated with fertility and the Sun that brings well-being to all life on Earth. She was celebrated at a midsummer festival in Latvia on June 23.
”Ceres” (1488-96)
The Greek goddess Demeter’s story was reinterpreted by the Romans, and she became Ceres, the goddess associated with Summer. She was one of the twelve significant deities of Rome, and she was represented in sculpture and mosaics in Roman temples and homes. Boccaccio dedicated a section to Ceres in his De Mulieribus Claris (On Famous Women) (1361-62), the first collection of biographies of women since ancient times. The many editions of his book were illustrated by different artists in different eras. “Ceres” (1488-96) is the symbol of fertility. She stands with sickle in hand beside two large sheaves of wheat, a blue sky adorned with gold stars is the background. Her sickle was intended not only to be used to cut grain. Ceres was believed to be the protector of crops and of agriculture in general.
The name Ceres has its origins in an Indo-European root word kehr which meant to satiate and to feed. The Italian word crescere meant to grow; the Roman word was cerews. From these base words, we have the word cereal.
‘Ceres” (1440)
In another addition of Boccaccio’s book “Ceres” (1440) represents another aspect of the goddess. Ceres taught men how to plow and work the earth. Dressed in the medieval fashion of a queen, Ceres sits on a throne placed in a landscape. Her hand directs the sower to spread the seed, while two men spur on the oxen to pull the plow through the field to make it ready for the seeds.
‘Ceres” (1770-71) 21×15
The porcelain statue of “Ceres” (!770-71) (21”x15”) was created by Dominikus Auliczek (1734-1804) at the Nymphenburg Porcelain Works in Munich. Ceres is represented classically in the nude. Auliczek created curves throughout the composition. A curved and draped blue cloth is placed strategically. Her dynamic pose accentuates the graceful curves of her body. She holds a large, curved wheat sheaf, bound by a red ribbon. At her feet, another sheaf of wheat bends downward and also is tied with a red ribbon. The triangular shapes of the blue drapery add stability to the figure. The wheat sheaves bend to the left, but she looks to the right. Her hair is decorated with a crown of kernels of wheat and seeds.
Auliczek studied sculpture in Vienna (1752-53), then in Paris (1754), London (1756-59), and Rome (1756-59). He was awarded a prize in sculpture in 1759, and Pope Clement XIII awarded him the Order of the Golden Spur, which conferred nobility. He joined the Nymphenburg Porcelain Manufactory in 1763. He was a major designer until he retired in 1797. At the same time (1763-1797) he was Court Sculptor and created large figures of Jupiter, Juno, Pluto, and Persephone for the palace gardens.
”Eta-Summer” (1895)
“Eta/Summer” (1896) (41”x21”) is from the first series of The Seasons, created by Czech artist Alphonse Mucha (1860-1939). He studied art in Munich and then at the Academie Julian and the Academie Colarossi in Paris (1888). He painted portraits and subjects from history. He was discovered by the actress Sarah Bernhardt in 1894, and his life changed dramatically. Bernhardt was starring in Sardou’s play Gismonda, which was so popular the run was extended beyond December 1894. She wanted posters to announce the extension. Mucha’s posters for Gismonda hit the streets of Paris on January 1, 1895, and they were a sensation. Bernardt ordered four thousand copies and gave Mucha a six-year contract. The publisher Champenois began to order work from Mucha. His posters were the major influence on the Art Nouveau style that emerged around1900.
“Eta/Summer” is one in the series of four posters in which the seasons are depicted as beautiful, curvaceous young women, intwined with the flowers and plants of each season. Summer sits on the bank of a river, her feet dangling in the water, and her head and arms resting on a curving grape vine. Her long, brown hair is draped in the same manner as the folds of her garment that is draped over the bank. She wears an off-white gown, and her hair is adorned with a crown of red poppies. Poppies frequently were woven into the wheat crowns of priestesses and devotees of Ceres. Poppy seeds also were present in the Mediterranean region and were used as a mild sedative by 2700 BCE. The flowers were associated with Demeter and Ceres as a symbol of fertility, sleep, death, and rebirth. The plants were cultivated in Greek and Roman wheatfields as a source of protein, fiber, calcium, and magnesium.
‘Ceres” (1930)
“Ceres” (1930), is an aluminum Art Deco sculpture at the top of the Chicago Board of Trade Building by Chicago-born sculptor John H. Storrs (1885-1956). Ceres wears a crown, and she holds a sheaf of wheat in her left hand and a bag of corn in her right hand. The sculpture consists of 40 sections, is 31 feet tall, and weighs 6,500 pounds.
The goddess Ceres is represented in several America states. Her image appears on the state seal of New Jersey. Sculptures of Ceres are placed at the tops of the Missouri State Capitol and the Vermont State House. Named after the goddess Ceres, a town located in the San Joaquin Vallery south of San Francisco is one of the richest agricultural areas in California.
Beverly Hall Smith was a professor of art history for 40 years. Since retiring with her husband Kurt to Chestertown six years ago, she has taught art history classes at WC-ALL and Chesapeake College’s Institute for Adult Learning. She is also an artist whose work is sometimes in exhibitions at Chestertown RiverArts and she paints sets for the Garfield Center for the Arts.
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