The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 23, 2024

Orpheus and Cerberus

Orpheus and Cerberus

c. 1765
(Austrian, 1708–1777)
Germany, near Bamberg, 18th century
sandstone
with base: 304.8 cm (120 in.); Base: 38.1 x 102.9 x 102.9 cm (15 x 40 1/2 x 40 1/2 in.); without base: 182.9 x 106.7 x 61 cm (72 x 42 x 24 in.); Pedestal: 89.5 x 88.9 x 88.9 cm (35 1/4 x 35 x 35 in.)
John L. Severance Fund 1971.65
Location: not on view

Did You Know?

Taught to play the lyre by the Greek god Apollo, Orpheus's legendary musical abilities had the power to charm animals.

Description

This work was one of numerous sculptures Tietz created for the gardens of Schloss Seehof, near Bamberg in Bavaria (Germany), the summer residence of the Prince Bishops of Bamberg. The exaggerated forms of Orpheus's face and musculature caricature the idealized proportions of classical sculpture. A further parody exists with his companion: the usually terrifying hound Cerberus is here nothing more than a docile puppy, sitting calmly at Orpheus's feet. Meant to be viewed outdoors, on a high pedestal and from a distance, this work is less finely detailed than sculptures Tietz made for indoor settings at Seehof.
  • after 1757 -
    commissioned by Adam Friedrich von Seins­heim (1708–1779), Prince Bishop of Bamberg
    - at least 1965
    Garden of Schloss Seehof, near Bamberg (Germany)
    - 1971
    (Dr. Kurt Rossacher, Salzburg, by whom sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)
  • Margarete Kämpf, "Das fürstbischöfliche Schloss Seehof bei Bamberg," Bericht des Historischen Vereins Bamberg, nos. 93-94 (1956). Mentioned: pp. 153, 156
    Erich Herzog, "Verlorene Figuren von Ferdinand Tietz aus dem Park von Schloss Seehof," Mainfränkisches Jahrbuch für Geschichte und Kunst 9 (1959), 234-246 Mentioned: p. 235
    Klaus Merten, "Schloss und Garten Seehof, Zwischenbilanz einer Liquidation," Maltechnik-Restauro 2 (1972). Mentioned: p. 128
    "Year in Review 1971," Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 59 (January 1972), p. 40, no. 14, repr. p. 11.
    "La Chronique des Arts," Gazette des Beaux-Arts (February 1972) Reproduced: p. 96, fig. 339
    A. Beverly Barksdale, "Some Musical Sidelights of Tietz's Orpheus," Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art LIX (September 1972), 212-215 Mentioned: pp. 212-14, reproduced: figs 4, 5 www.jstor.org
    Henry Hawley, "Three Works by Ferdinand Tietz from Schloss Seehof," Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art LIX (September 1972), 204-211 Mentioned: pp. 207-211; Reproduced: pp. 208, 210, 213, 214. www.jstor.org
    "Museum Accessions," The Magazine Antiques, 103, no. 5 (May 1973), repr. p. 866.
    Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978. Reproduced: p. 167 archive.org
    Lindemann, Bernd Wolfgang. "Ferdinand Tietz: Probleme des kleinplastischen Werks," Zeitschrift des Deutschen Vereins Für Kunstwissenschaft 37, Heft 1/4 (1983), 73-108 Mentioned: pp. 82, 84; Reproduced: p. 85
    Lindemann, Bernd Wolfgang. Ferdinand Tietz, 1708-1777: Studien zu Werk, Stil und Ikonographie. Weissenhorn: A.H. Konrad, 1989. Mentio ned: pp. 321-322; Reproduced: p. 108, no. 105
  • Year in Review: 1971. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (December 28, 1971-February 6, 1972).
  • {{cite web|title=Orpheus and Cerberus|url=false|author=Ferdinand Tietz|year=c. 1765|access-date=23 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1971.65