3-015-536 - Heritage Art/Heritage Images

Comedy And Tragedy: Sic Vita, modeled 1891-92, cast c1902-05. This boy’s twisting pose encourages us to walk around him, where we discover the cause of his pained expression, a bee stinging his leg. If we look at the boy’s face through the mouth of the theatrical mask he carries, however, he appears to be laughing. The ingenious composition encapsulates the two opposing aspects of drama: comedy and tragedy. In Latin, sic vita means "such is life."