Il Pensieroso, (sculpture).

Il Pensieroso, (sculpture).

Romanelli, Raffaello, 1856-1928, sculptor.

Buonarroti, Michelangelo, 1475-1564, painter. (copy after)

Unknown (Italian), founder.

Il Pensieroso, (sculpture).

Il Pensiero, (sculpture).

Thinker, (sculpture).

Installed Sept. 14, 1910. Relocated 1963.

Sculpture: bronze; Base: cast concrete.

Overall: approx. H. 9 ft.; Sculpture: approx. H. 7.5 ft.; Base: 2.5 ft. (5 tons).

(Signature and foundry mark on front of bronze base) (Plaque on front of base appears to be original commemorative plaque seen in a 1910 newspaper article, but the perimeter appears to have been cut down) (Plaque on back of base commemorates the 1963 move) signed Founder's mark appears.

A military figure in classical Roman armor is seated with his proper left arm resting on a casque, which rests on his left thigh. His proper left hand is raised to his face and his index finger is laid thoughtfully upon his lip as he ponders the path of fate. His proper right hand rests casually on his proper right thigh. The sculpture is installed on a cast concrete base at the top of the stairs in front of the Haverhill High School.

Figure male -- Full length

Dress -- Historic -- Armor

Occupation -- Military -- Soldier

Outdoor Sculpture -- Massachusetts -- Haverhill

Administered by City of Haverhill, Haverhill Historical Commission, 4 Summer Street, Room 309, Haverhill, Massachusetts 01830

Located Haverhill High School, Monument Street, Haverhill, Massachusetts

The sculpture is a bronze cast copied after Michelangelo's "Il Pensieroso" (The Thinker) that stands above the tomb of Lorenzo de Medici in the sacristy of San Lorenzo in Florence. The sculpture was a gift of Mrs. Norman W. Harris (Emma Gale '68) who commissioned the sculpture in honor of her mentor, Joseph Augustus Shores, the principal of Haverhill High School from 1856-1872. The sculpture was originally intended for the school's interior, but the sculpture proved too large. Instead it was temporarily placed indoors at the Haverhill Public Library until a new site in front of the Haverhill high school was agreed upon. The sculpture soon became the symbol for the Haverhill high school, and it remained in front of the school until 1963, when Haverhill's new high school was completed, and the sculpture was relocated to the new school on Monument Street. IAS files contain newspaper articles from the Haverhill Enterprise Gazette, Sept. 14, 1910; Jan. 29, 1910; and Jan. 7, 1910.

Treated 2002 July. Ritka Smith McNally (South Natick, MA). Treatment report on file with owner and the Haverhill Public Library, special collections department.

Save Outdoor Sculpture, Massachusetts survey, 1993.

SOS Assessment Award, 2000.

Inventory staff, 2001.

SOS Conservation Notification Report, 2002.

The information provided about this artwork was compiled as part of the Smithsonian American Art Museum's Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture database, designed to provide descriptive and location information on artworks by American artists in public and private collections worldwide.

Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture, Smithsonian American Art Museum, P.O. Box 37012, MRC 970, Washington, D.C. 20013-7012

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