The artist supposes she
has found this crucifix, which the early Catholic missionaries were wont
to attach to the forest trees, and having heard from some of these
zealous teachers an exposition of Christ's mission, the better life has
already begun to dawn in her soul, and her whole aspect tells that this
mysterious influence is upon her.
The features are Indian, fair and comely--we do not say beautiful,
because this term expresses the highest excellence, and ought as a
descriptive phrase to be more sparingly used. The face is idealized, as
the rules of true art always require, but still preserves its fidelity
to the natural type. The form is nude to the waist, the drapery arranged
with unrivalled grace, the hair is clubbed so as to reveal the neck and
shoulders, while the perfection of contour and the completeness of
development satisfy the most critical eye for the study of detail. The
'Indian Girl' forms one of the landmarks in the history of American
sculpture.
But Palmer's grand, characteristic work, in which his genius seems to
have reached its noblest expression, is the 'White Captive,' which we
believe to be one of the most perfect creations of ancient or modern
art. It is something more than the nude figure of a surpassingly
beautiful woman, bound to the stake, and defying the gaze of her
barbarous captors--it is not merely an exciting incident in pioneer
life, but it has a grand symbolical meaning that reaches beyond a
literal interpretation of the situation.
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