"The Flower Girl (Linda)" (1879) by Charles Francis Summers (1857-1945)

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Girl Carrying a Lute (Linda)

Charles Francis Summers (1857-1945)

Marble

1879

Height: Two metres (78 inches)

Royal Botanic Gardens, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.

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Making a pair with the marble figure of a young chimney-sweep. the girl carrying a lute is positioned near the top of the Royal Botanic Garden steps. Summers has based both child figures on characters from a Donzietti opera entitled Linda di Chamonix (1842).

Scanned image and text by Philip V. Allingham.

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Commentary

Whereas the chimney-sweep looks like a waif, young Linda, the virtuous protagonist of Donizetti's musical melodrama, is quite decently turned out: she wears a mob cap, a short cape tied at the neck, a plain dress with an apron, and clogs, even though she is only the daughter of a poor farmer. While the boy seems to be miserable on his cold rooftop, she carries a lute, and looks more winsome, as befits the penniless object of Carlo's affections in the 1842 opera. Unfortunately one arm has been damaged and the hand is missing.

Bibliography

Eastwood, Jill. "Summers, Charles (1825-1878)." Australian Dictionary of Biography. Vol. VI (1976). National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. Melbourne University Press. Web. 21 February 2026. adb.anu.edu.au

Scarlett, Kenneth William. "Summers, Charles Francis." Australian Sculptors. West Melbourne: Nelson, 1980. 630-635.

Created 23 February 2026