Who posed for the Statue of Liberty?
I write about people whose image is reflected in art. Everyone recognizes the face of this woman, but few know who she was. The sculptor Frederic Auguste Bartholdi, having decided to sculpt a huge statue of Liberty, was first of all inspired by the famous painting by Eugene Delacroix "Liberty on the Barricades", which gave him the idea of the work, but he made the face of his statue from a real model.
 |
| Frederic Auguste Bartholdi. Statue of Liberty, fragment |
Who was she?
Her name was Isabella Eugenie Boyer. This woman lived a very turbulent life. She was born in Paris, moreover, her father, as they say, was from Africa and worked as a confectioner. I think he was from the British colonizers, and not African in the sense of race. Isabella's mother was English. Some sources write something about mixed marriage, but judging by the appearance of the girl, both parents were clearly white.
Isabella Eugenie Boyer
Isabella was a beauty, and she was willingly drawn as a model.
 |
| Isabella Eugenie Boyer image source: https://commons.m.wikimedia.org |
After moving to London, Isabella renewed her acquaintance with Isaac Singer - the one who owned the production of sewing machines. At that time, Isabella was 20 years old, and Singer was 52. He was a millionaire, a lover of pretty women and an unfaithful husband. From two former wives he had more than ten children (moreover, he lived for a long time in two families), but after meeting Isabella he was free for a new feeling.
And these feelings flared up so much that the couple got married. Isabella became Mrs. Singer and in this marriage gave birth to six children. Family life lasted 12 years, until the death of Singer. He left $22 million, which was a whopping amount of money at the time, and a total of 18 children. All claimed inheritance. Isabella showed excellent business skills and won a fortune.
Isabella Eugenie Boyer next to the face of the Statue of Liberty
She was not a widow for very long. A few years later, Isabella married the then famous violinist Victor Reubsaet. This marriage also gave her a title - she became the Countess of Camposelice. The age was approaching 40, but the beauty of Isabella did not fade. It was during this period that she met Bertholdi, who was just looking for a model for the Statue of Liberty he had conceived. Isabella's face - chiseled, serious, resolute, suited him very well. He asked to pose for him, the millionaire countess agreed to play this role.
So her face was captured in bronze.
 |
| Bas Uterwijk. The face of the Statue of Liberty. Image source: https://news.yahoo.com |
The marriage to Reubsaet also ended with his death. Becoming a widow, Isabella married for the third time at the age of 50. Her husband was the art collector Paul Sokhezh. Isabella died at 62.
Nowadays, Dutch photographer Bas Uterwijk uses computer graphics, 3D animation and special effects to translate famous paintings and sculptures into photographic format. He did the same with the face of the Statue of Liberty. What he did, you can see in the photo. Actually, this is the face of Isabella Eugenie Boyer, Mrs. Singer, Countess Camposelice, Madame Sokhezh.
• Statue of Liberty: Curious facts about the Statue of Liberty
• Statue of Liberty | history of the construction and Attractions around the Statue of Liberty
• How tall is the Statue of Liberty?
• What is the statue of liberty holding in her left hand?
