The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of May 20, 2026

A white marble sculpture depicts a youthful, nude man reclining against a rocky outcrop with leafy branches. He slumps with eyes closed and mouth slightly open, fabric draped across his lap. One arm rests on a cloth-covered ledge to our left, while the other hangs straight down. At his feet on our right, a dog lies curled next to a long staff. The sculpture sits on a textured, uneven base.

Sleeping Endymion

1716

Agostino Cornacchini

(Italian, 1686–1754)
Italy, 18th century
marble
Overall: 64.8 x 53.4 x 45.8 cm (25 1/2 x 21 x 18 1/16 in.)
Gift of Grace Rainey Rogers in memory of her father, William J. Rainey 1942.51
Location: 216A French and German

Description

Cornacchini moved away from the dramatic movement and light effects characteristic of baroque sculpture toward a calmer, gentler, more graceful style favored by 18th-century taste. This sculpture depicts Endymion, a beautiful young shepherd from Greek mythology. His beauty so entranced Selene, the personification of the moon, that she asked Zeus to grant Endymion immortality. Zeus did so, but only after placing Endymion in an eternal sleep.
  • Private collection (Rome, Italy), ca. 1920-25 (according to a letter from Roberto Longhi, November 13, 1964);
    Grace Rainey Rogers, 1867-1943 (New York, New York), by gift to the Cleveland Museum of Art, 1942.
  • The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1966. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1966. Reproduced: p. 116 archive.org
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1969. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1969. Reproduced: p. 116 archive.org
    Di Macco, Michela, Giuseppe Dardanello, and Chiara Gauna. Sfida al Barocco: 1680-1750 : Roma, Torino, Parigi. Genova: Sagep editori, 2020. Mentioned and reproduced: P. 25-26, fig. 5
  • Florence and the Arts: Five Centuries of Patronage. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (July 13-September 19, 1971).
    CMA 1971: "Florence and the Arts - Five Centuries of Patronage," cat. no. 39, repr.
    Classic to Baroque: A Style Change in the Arts. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 30-November 13, 1949).
  • {{cite web|title=Sleeping Endymion|url=false|author=Agostino Cornacchini|year=1716|access-date=20 May 2026|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1942.51