The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 24, 2024

Satyress

Satyress

c. 1525–1528
(Italian, 1495/99–1574)
Italy, 16th century
bronze
Overall: 16.5 x 11.5 cm (6 1/2 x 4 1/2 in.)
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Severance A. Millikin 1947.29
Location: 117A Italian Renaissance

Description

In antiquity, satyrs were lustful woodland deities who delighted in wine and revelry. Renaissance artists adopted them as symbols of vice and carnal love; the female satyr, or satyress, on this bronze plaquette, recently reattributed from Riccio to Mosca, was probably derived from a copper engraving of a Roman sarcophagus by Marcantonio Raimondi (c. 1470/82-1527/34). Both the sarcophagus and subsequent engraving depicted a bacchanalia, or scene of orgiastic carousal; the peculiar objects surrounding the satyress have been added by the artist, possibly in an effort to remove the figure from her lewd original composition and give a more refined meaning. The satyress rests her right hoof upon a plumed helmet. A coiled shape, possibly a snake, winds out of the helmet. To her left, a laurel tree stands with only half of its branches in bloom. Two severed animal legs are tied around its trunk and an illegible plaque hangs from one of its branches. A lyre, a pan pipe, an animal jawbone and a bow are gathered at the base of the tree. The highly allegorical nature of the work uses obscure symbols, rather than a distinct narrative, to convey meaning and could possibly be read as an allegory of physical pleasure overcoming virtue.
  • Dona delle Rose (Venice, Italy), sold to Ernö Wittman, ca. 1932
    Ernö Wittmann (Budapest, Hungary), died 1963, sold through R. Stora & Co. (New York, New York) to the Cleveland Museum of Art, 1947.
  • The Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art Handbook. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1958. Mentioned and Reproduced: cat. no. 233 archive.org
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1966. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1966. Reproduced: p. 87 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. 87 archive.org
    Wixom, William D. Renaissance Bronzes from Ohio Collections. 1975. cat. no. 91, repr.
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978. Reproduced: p. 101 archive.org
    Schulz, Anne Markham. The History of Venetian Renaissance Sculpture, Ca. 1400-1530. London: Harvey Miller Publishers, 2017. Mentioned: p. 334
  • Conserving the Past for the Future. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (March 4-May 6, 2001).
    The Persistence of Classicism in Sculpture. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (November 16, 1988-January 15, 1989).
    Nature and Antiquity in the Italian Renaissance. Städtische Galerie Liebieghaus, Frankfurt am Main, Germany (organizer) (December 4, 1985-March 2, 1986).
    Dec 4, 1985-March 2, 1986: "Nature and Antiquity in the Italian Renaissance," Stadtische Galerie-Liebieghaus, Frankfurt, West Germany, cat. no. 158, repr., pp. 456-58
    Renaissance Bronzes from Ohio Collections. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 24-November 16, 1975).
    "Survey of Italian Art," Seattle Art Museum, November 8 to December 8, 1957.
    35th Anniversary Exhibition. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 20-September 30, 1951).
    Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL, (fall, 1943-1944): "15th and 16th c. Sculpture in Bronze and Wood, lent by Dr. Ernst Wittman," (no cat.)
  • {{cite web|title=Satyress|url=false|author=Giovanni Maria Mosca|year=c. 1525–1528|access-date=24 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1947.29