Wein modeled the elegant Demeter in Italy in 1947. He then submitted it for consideration by the Tiffany Foundation, which awarded him one of its prestigious artist’s grants in 1949. The same year this sculpture was created, Wein was awarded the American Academy in Rome’s Prix de Rome. He spent the next two years in Italy, accompanied by his second wife Gertrude, a dancer, who served as the model for Demeter.
Albert Wein depicts Demeter in the act of pouring a large jug of water; presumably he has decided to use water as the symbol of replenishing the land. Here, Wein is capturing Demeter at the transition of a new season. Wein sculpted many of the Greek Gods, and this subject matter is particularly interesting considering he was becoming more and more of a modernist. Recalling such a Classical theme creates an interesting juxtaposition. The water Demeter pours onto the land appears at first to be a surrealist object, melting and twisting as it flows from the urn. Wein, acknowledging the juxtaposition, is stating how modernism has poured into the culture, at first looking odd but gradually blending in and influencing the culture at large.
The daughter of Cronus and Rhea, Demeter was one of the great Olympian deities of Greece, equated with the Roman Ceres. She was the goddess of vegetation and the protectress of marriage. In the Olympian Pantheon, Demeter was responsible for bringing forth the fruits of the earth, particularly the various grains. She also taught mankind the art of sowing and plowing so they could end their nomadic existence. As such, Demeter was also the goddess of planned society. She was very popular with the rural population. As a fertility goddess she is sometimes identified with Rhea and Gaia. Demeter was the sister of Zeus, by whom she became the mother of Persephone. When Persephone was abducted by Hades, lord of the underworld, Demeter wandered the earth in search of her lost child. During this time the earth brought forth no grain. Finally, Zeus sent Hermes to the underworld, ordering Hades to restore Persephone to her mother. However, before she left, Hades gave her a pomegranate (a common fertility symbol). When she ate from it, she was bound to spend a third of the year with her husband in the infernal regions. Only when her daughter is with her, Demeter lets things grow (summer). The dying and blossoming of nature was thus connected with Demeter, the changing of the seasons.
In ancient art, Demeter was often portrayed (sitting) as a solemn woman, often wearing a wreath of braided ears of corn. Well-known is the statue made by Knidos (mid forth century BCE). Her usual symbolic attributes are the fruits of the earth and the torch, the latter presumably referring to her search for Persephone. Her sacred animals were the snake (an earth-creature) and the pig (another symbol of fertility). Some of her epithets include Auxesia, Deo, Chloe, and Sito.