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Moisés de Huerta was awarded a grant to complete his artistic training at the Spanish Academy of Fine Arts in Rome, where he produced this sculpture. The head of a woman--a greek courtesan, as the title of the work suggests--in a thoughtful pose, her chin resting on her hands, emerges from a block of compact marble. The head and the hands are meticulously finished, as opposed to the synthetic treatment of the wavy hair and the roughly-hewn plinth of the sculpture. The influence of Michelangelo is obvious in the exaltation of the human canon and the application of the non-finito, while the teachings of Rodin can be traced in the treatment of matter and texture and in a certain Symbolist air.

From a very early age Moisés de Huerta had conscientiously trained as a sculptor in the workshops of religious images makers and in various schools in Bilbao and Madrid, training that was followed by sojourns in Italy, London, Paris, the Netherlands and Havana. Technically gifted and highly meticulous throughout his creative process, the sculptor manages to extract the best qualities from each material, displaying his mastery in the treatment of marble, wood and stone. [Santiago Arcediano]

Selected bibliography

• Lago, Silvio. "Moisés de Huerta", La Esfera, n° 67. abril de 1915. p. 20, il. (reproducido en la portada)
• Plasencia, Antonio. Catálogo de las obras de pintura y escultura del Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao. Bilbao, Imprenta Provincial, 1932. p. 43, n° cat. 161. (Con el título Hetaira, y atribuido a Moisés de Huerta)
• Bengoechea, Javier de. Catálogo de arte moderno y contemporáneo del Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao. Bilbao, Banco de Vizcaya, 1980. p. 144. (Con el título Hetaira).
• Bazán de Huerta, Moisés. El escultor Moisés de Huerta, 1881-1962. Bilbao, Bilbao Bizkaia Kutxa, 1992. pp. 13, 26, 48, 99, 230, n° cat. 30.
• Artistas vascos en Roma : 1865-1915 [Cat. exp.]. Donostia-San Sebastián, Kutxa Gizarte eta Kultur Fundazioa = Fundación Social y Cultural Kutxa, 1995. p. 447.
• Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao : guía. Bilbao, Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa-Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 2006. p. 152.
• Musée des Beaux Arts de Bilbao : guide. Bilbao, Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa-Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 2006. p. 152.
• Bilbao Fine Arts Museum : guide. Bilbao, Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa-Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 2006. p. 152.
• Guía Artistas Vascos. Bilbao, Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 2008. pp. 81-82.
• Gida Euskal Artistak. Bilbao, Bilboko Arte Eder Museoa, 2008. p. 81.
• Mateo Inurria y la escultura de su tiempo. Córdoba, Ayuntamiento , 2011. pp. 228, 240, il.
• Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao : guía. Bilbao, Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa-Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 2011. p. 152, n° cat. 107.
• Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa : gida. Bilbao, Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa-Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 2012. p. 152, n° cat. 107.
• Guide Basque Artists. Bilbao, Bilbao Fine Arts Museum, 2012. pp. 80-81, n° cat. 37a.
• Bilbao Fine Arts Museum : guide. Bilbao, Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa-Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 2014. p. 152.
• Musée des Beaux Arts de Bilbao : guide. Bilbao, Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa-Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 2014. p. 152.
• Eskauriaza, Mikel; Mendizabal, Asier; Jaio, Miren. Risveglio : Despertar en el Museo. [s.l.], -zko, 2020. pp. 45, 53, il.
• Eskauriaza, Mikel; Mendizabal, Asier; Jaio, Miren. Risveglio : Museoan itzartzea. [s.l.], -zko, 2020. pp. 45, 53, il.