Literary notes about Statuesque (AI summary)
Writers often use "statuesque" to evoke the image of a character or object imbued with classic, timeless beauty and a dignified, almost sculptural presence. It highlights both physical perfection and an air of immobility, suggesting a calm, composed elegance, as when a figure’s silent, noble bearing is likened to an ancient statue ([1], [2]). At times, the term underscores a duality of grace and detachment, whether describing a woman whose features metamorphose into marble-like rigidity ([3]) or a scene where the stillness itself exudes a regal poise ([4]). Other passages celebrate this classical ideal by comparing modern forms to mythic or heroic figures, thereby lending them an almost transcendent quality ([5], [6]).
- Observe the early severity of the figures in the Crucifixion, and the firmness of the drawing: each personage stands out with statuesque distinctness.
— from ParisGrant Allen's Historical Guides by Grant Allen - Mrs. Fane was tall and statuesque, with a placid, firm face, beautiful but cold.
— from The White Room by Fergus Hume - Her beautiful features, naturally statuesque in their noble outlines, seemed transformed into marble by the rigidity of her expression.
— from Lady Audley's Secret by M. E. Braddon - There was nothing statuesque in her; all was nervous motion.
— from Jude the Obscure by Thomas Hardy - She stood with head erect and eyes cast down, beautiful and statuesque as one of the Greek Caniphori.
— from The Ship of Coral by H. De Vere (Henry De Vere) Stacpoole - But in his best days (I mean, of course, his worst) Flambeau was a figure as statuesque and international as the Kaiser.
— from The innocence of Father Brown by G. K. Chesterton
