Snowdrop

Snowdrop is a standing female nude in plaster, sculpted by Per Hasselberg in 1881. It is named after the snowdrop flower at the woman's feet, although the title also refers to its young, innocent subject stepping out of childhood and into womanhood - Hasselberg used a sixteen-year-old Italian girl as a model for the work

Exhibited at the 1881 Paris Salon, it was the only Swedish work of art to receive an honorable mention, leading to Hasselberg's definitive breakthrough as an artist. The Nationalmuseum in Sweden commissioned a copy in marble in 1883 at the cost of 6,000 kroner - this was awarded a gold medal at the 1883 Salon.