How does Christ and the Samaritan Woman (Meštrović) elucidate its Analysis?
Like many of the other works from Mestrovic's Notre Dame period, this sculpture was both religious in nature and inspired by previous work he had done in Croatia. Indeed, Mestrovic had previously sculpted the episode of the Samaritan woman at the well thirty years earlier in 1927, for the wood relief in a chapel in Split. The compositions for the two sculptures are quite similar, with two noticeable changes in the Notre Dame work, the position of the Samaritan woman's head and in a more relaxed attitude of Christ. Instead, there are noticeable stylistic changes. While garments in the 1927 works are diaphanous, clinging and enveloping the bodies and decorated with graceful and sinuous motifs, the 1957 forms present heavy folds, casually draped over the limbs. An even more significant difference is the relationship and the strong sense of communication between the two Christ and the woman. This symbolizes' Meštrović interest on depicting the spiritual impact of the figures rather than the form and style.
Split Samaritan woman at the well