The Cleveland Museum of Art
Collection Online as of December 20, 2025
Doorknocker with a Satyr Pulling an Ox's Horns
1800s
(Italian, c. 1470–1532)
Overall: 8.8 x 25.2 x 8.8 cm (3 7/16 x 9 15/16 x 3 7/16 in.)
Location: Not on view
Description
Fanciful bronzes such as this one were extremely popular in the late 1500s in the north of Italy, where sculptors such as Andrea Riccio and Severo da Ravenna often featured bizarre imaginary creatures in their sculptures. These artists exerted a long-lasting influence on their peers and followers for the remainder of the 1500s. However, this sculpture was not made in the 1500s. Based on the weight and style of the Doorknocker, it is most likely that it was made in the 1800s to mimic the style of Riccio and his followers. This sculpture is solid; in the 1500s artists created hollow sculptures to reduce the costs of the object and to decrease the chances of flaws in the sculpture. However, in the 1800s when better bronze casting technology evolved and the price of the metal was less costly, artists created solid bronze sculptures based on sixteenth-century designs. In particular, there was a considerable market in England for Renaissance revival doorknockers to be used decoratively on pub doors.- Dr. Ernö Wittmann (Budapest, Hungary)R. Stora & Co. (New York, New York), by 1948, sold to Mr. and Mrs. Severance A. Millikin, 1948.Mr. and Mrs. Severance A. Millikin, by gift to the Cleveland Museum of Art, 1948.
- Milliken, William. "Paduan Bronzes by Riccio." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 36, no. 3 (March 1949): 33-35. Reproduced: p. 30; Mentioned: p. 35 www.jstor.org
- July 13, 1982 - October 17, 1982 "The Age of Bronze," Cleveland Museum of Art, (no cat.)September 24, 1975 - November 16, 1975 "Renaissance Bronzes from Ohio Collections," Cleveland Museum of Art, (cat no. 87)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=Doorknocker with a Satyr Pulling an Ox's Horns|url=false|author=Andrea Riccio|year=1800s|access-date=20 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}
Source URL:
https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1948.487