The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 25, 2024

Inkwell and Candlestick with the Infant Hercules Killing the Serpents

Inkwell and Candlestick with the Infant Hercules Killing the Serpents

c. 1510–20

workshop of Severo da Ravenna

(Italian, c.1496-c.1543)
Italy, Ravenna, 16th century
bronze
Overall: 21 x 11 x 13 cm (8 1/4 x 4 5/16 x 5 1/8 in.)
John L. Severance Fund 1954.798
Location: 118 Italian Renaissance

Description

In the early 1500s, Padua, a center of strong humanist traditions, encouraged the revival of classicism, and artists took their cues from descriptions in the works of classical authors. Classical small-scale bronzes grew in demand, and in response, the city's bourgeoning foundries produced a varied and extensive supply of small statues. Like many early Paduan bronzes, this work's utilitarian function—used to hold ink and to supply light—is complimented by its ornamental value. The base consists of an eagle claw, cast from life, supporting an equally realistic nautilus shell. Though medieval artists had occasionally used seashells to hold paints, the shell inkwell, whose small size makes it rather impractical to use, was a motif particular to Padua. Perched upon the shell is most likely Hercules, the son of Zeus. Perhaps aided by a staff (now missing) he is poised to strike a serpent, which according to myth was sent by Hera, the jealous wife of Zeus, to kill him. The dramatic opposition of hero and monster enhances the connection to the classical past, further meeting the desires of the educated patrons of Padua.
  • Pfungst;
    John Pierpont Morgan, 1837-1915 (New York, New York)
    Ernö Wittmann (Budapest, Hungary), died 1963, sold through R. Stora & Co. (New York, New York) to the Cleveland Museum of Art, 1954.
  • Cleveland Museum of Art. Images of the Mind. Cleveland, Ohio: Cleveland Museum of Art, 1987. Reproduced: [p. 11]
  • Images of the Mind. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (July 7-August 30, 1987).
    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=Inkwell and Candlestick with the Infant Hercules Killing the Serpents|url=false|author=Severo da Ravenna|year=c. 1510–20|access-date=25 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1954.798