The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 18, 2024

Venus with a Burning Urn

Venus with a Burning Urn

c. 1500–1520
gilt bronze
Overall: 19.6 x 6.3 x 4 cm (7 11/16 x 2 1/2 x 1 9/16 in.); with base: 28.6 x 7 x 7 cm (11 1/4 x 2 3/4 x 2 3/4 in.)
John L. Severance Fund 1948.171
Location: 117A Italian Renaissance

Description

Venus is the Roman goddess of many virtues, including Love, Charity, Fertility, and Victory. Here, Venus is represented as the goddess of Charity. She wears a crown, as Charity is often depicted as the Queen of the Virtues. The flaming lamp in Venus's left hand was also a symbol of Charity in Venice, where this piece is thought to have originated. The bent fingers of her right hand are bent suggest that Venus may have once held another object. Renaissance sculptors often looked back to antiquity when producing monumental and small bronze statues. The small bronze cabinet piece comes into Italian art during this time, bringing ancient gods and goddesses into Italian households. Venus stands in a contrapposto pose and, like Hellenistic and Roman objects, her locks are tied by a double ribbon while two curls fall on her shoulders. Her tilted head and large emotional eyes, as well as her small nose and parted lips reflect the influence of Hellenistic Greek facial styles.
  • John Postle Heseltine, 1843-1929 (London, England)
    Dr. Ernö Wittmann, died 1963 (Budapest, Hungary), by 1929
    R. Stora & Company (New York), by 1948, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art, 1948.
  • Milliken, William M. “Recent Accessions in Bronze.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 36, no. 1 (1949): 5–7. Mentioned: P. 5; reproduced: Cover www.jstor.org
    Pope-Hennessy, John. “Recent Research.” The Burlington Magazine 91, no. 557 (1949): 233–234. Mentioned: P. 234 www.jstor.org
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art Handbook. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1958. Mentioned and Reproduced: cat. no. 240 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. 91 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. 91 archive.org
    Wixom, William D. Renaissance Bronzes from Ohio Collections. Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, 1975.
    Published as: Venus Prudentia Mentioned and reproduced: no. 109
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978. Reproduced: p. 105 archive.org
    Draper, James David. "Andrea Riccio and hi Colleagues in the Untermyer Collection." Apollo (March 1978): 170-180. Mentioned: P. 180 n. 55
    Brown, Beverly Louise. "Picturing the Perfect Marriage: The Equilibrium of Sense and Sensibility in Titian's "Sacred and Profane Love."" In Art and Love in Renaissance Italy. Andrea Bayer,ed., 238-245. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2008. Mentioned and reproduced: P. 240, fig. 94
    Cleveland Museum of Art. The CMA Companion: A Guide to the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2014. Mentioned and reproduced: P. 175
  • Bonacolsi. L'Antico. Uno scultore nella Mantova di Andrea Mantegna e di Isabella d'Este. Museo di Palazzo Ducale, Mantova, Italy (September 13, 2008-January 6, 2009).
    Palazzo Ducale di Mantova, Italy (9/13/2008 - 1/6/2009): "Bonacolsi. L'Antico. Uno scultore nella Mantova di Andrea Mantegna e di Isabella d'Este"
    Nature and Antiquity in the Italian Renaissance. Städtische Galerie Liebieghaus, Frankfurt am Main, Germany (organizer) (December 4, 1985-March 2, 1986).
    Antiquity in the Renaissance. Smith College Museum of Art, Northampton, MA (organizer) (April 6-June 6, 1978).
    Smith College Museum of Art (4/6/1978 - 6/6/1978): "Antiquity in the Renaissance"
    The Renaissance Image of Man and the World. Columbus Museum of Art, Columbus, OH (organizer) (October 27-November 27, 1961).
    Columbus Gallery of Fine Arts (1961): "The Renaissance Image of Man and the World"
    Classic to Baroque: A Style Change in the Arts. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 30-November 13, 1949).
    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=Venus with a Burning Urn|url=false|author=|year=c. 1500–1520|access-date=18 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1948.171