Which artworks are most searched for by visitors on slam.org?

The Saint Louis Art Museum’s global collection includes more than 37,000 objects with around 14,000 of those searchable online. That number is always growing, with new works regularly added; other entries are enhanced to feature new research, artist details, or expanded interpretive materials. This online search feature has garnered more than 100,000 views just this year.  

So, what are slam.org visitors searching for? Whether they are researching an object for school, satisfying curiosity, or admiring SLAM’s encyclopedic collection, the works listed below accumulate the most traffic. Continue reading to view the five most searched collection items.

Betty 

Gerhard Richter based this painting on a 1978 photograph of his 11-year-old daughter. Betty turns away from the viewer, possibly toward one of Richter’s own monochrome paintings. Richter fled East Germany in 1961 at age 29 and moved to Düsseldorf just before the Berlin Wall was erected. At the time, West Germany was struggling to define its postwar identity. Richter painted this work 27 years later in 1988, only a year before the fall of the Berlin Wall.

This work is on view in Anabeth and John Weil Gallery 251. 

Judith and Holofernes

This biblical heroine’s strong arms and angled shoulders create lively diagonal lines that enhance her exaggerated musculature. Judith came to the rescue when General Holofernes and the Assyrian army laid siege to her city of Bethulia. Boldly infiltrating the Assyrian camp, Judith dined with Holofernes and, once he was drunk, she beheaded him with the help of her maid Abra. Using a pose copied from Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel ceiling, Giorgio Vasari portrayed Judith as a physically powerful woman, a visible indication of her inner courage. 

This work is on view in Shoenberg Gallery 236.

The County Election

A large group of citizens gathers to place their votes in an election. Campaigning politicians anxiously press their party tickets toward individuals. One of the newest citizens, an Irish immigrant, is taking an oath that he had not voted elsewhere, just as one of the oldest, a Revolutionary War “76er” veteran, is descending the steps. Merchants in top hats discuss the issues with laborers in shirtsleeves, an example of the rational exchange that sustains democracy. Other individuals present a less responsible and informed perspective. One drunken citizen, unable to stand, is nonetheless dragged to cast a vote. Another sits on a bench to steady his head, his clarity evidently lost in a brawl. Two boys on the ground play mumblety peg, a knife game that progressively increases in risk. George Caleb Bingham revealed what every American supportive of an election understands: that the democratic ideal must be embraced even though uniformed votes could prevail.

This work is on view in Jeanne and Rex Sinquefield Gallery 337. 

Sadak in Search of the Waters of Oblivion

The dramatic subject for this painting came from The Tales of the Genii, written by James Ridley and published in 1764. Sadak is a Persian nobleman whose wife is abducted by the Sultan. In exchange for her safe return, Sadak undertakes a perilous journey to get a sample of the Waters of Oblivion. The painting depicts the nobleman clinging to a rock at the bottom of the painting, dedicating the rest of the canvas to the rocky precipices that Sadak must surmount. Rays of light emanate from the upper left, suggesting that Sadak will ultimately obtain his goal.

This work is on view in Pauline Gehner Mesker Gallery 205.