Summer. To a man a woman holds up a babe, symbol of the summer of human
life, while at one side a crouching figure holds a sheaf of full-headed
grain.
Autumn. The central figure is a woman of generous build with a jar on
her shoulder-quite the usual personification of Autumn or
fruitfulness. At one side a young woman holds a garland of grapes, and
at the other is a girl with a babe. This last figure is perhaps the most
graceful in all the four groups, though the same sort of loveliness
distinguishes to a certain extent the two flower-girls of "Spring."
Altogether, this "Autumn" fountain is probably the finest of the four.
Winter. The central figure is Nature, in the nakedness of winter,
resting after the harvests of autumn and waiting for the birth of
spring. At one side a man with a spade rests, while on the other a man
with a seed-bag is already beginning to sow. Although all the figures of
"The Fountains of the Seasons" are nude, there is about this group a
sense of cold nakedness that well accords with the season it portrays.
These four groups are very properly alike in composition and
feeling-suggesting perhaps that the differences between the seasons in
California are but slight. There is throughout a conventional touch, and
all are in pastoral mood. The groups are by Furio Piccirilli.
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