The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of March 16, 2026

Head of Silenus

c. 1547–87

Adamo Scultori

(Italian, c. 1530–1585)

after Giulio Romano

(Italian, 1492/99–1546)
Italy
engraving
Platemark: 13.5 cm (5 5/16 in.)
Elizabeth Carroll Shearer Fund 2025.137
Catalogue raisonné: Bartsch 128, Bellini 98
Location: Not on view

Did You Know?

This engraving’s circular cut plate imitates circular decorative elements featuring grotesque heads, such as those found on doorframes and other architectural borders in Renaissance architecture.

Description

This engraving by the Mantuan artist Adamo Scultori is based on an untraced design for stuccowork designed by Giulio Romano at the duke of Mantua’s Palazzo del Te. Silenus was the mythological teacher of Bacchus. Known for his great wisdom, which was enhanced by wine, he was often portrayed as the embodiment of overindulgence and revelry. Adamo emphasized these qualities in Silenus’s slightly inebriated expression and extended tongue. The dark contrasts and heavily worked, hatched areas of the engraving create deep shadows that relay the character of relief carving, like stucco.
  • November 30, 2022
    (Galerie Bassenge, Lot 05253)
    ?–2025
    (Pia Gallo, LLC, New York, NY, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH)
    June 9, 2025–
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • In Vino Veritas (In Wine, Truth). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 7, 2025-January 11, 2026).
  • {{cite web|title=Head of Silenus|url=false|author=Adamo Scultori, Giulio Romano|year=c. 1547–87|access-date=16 March 2026|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2025.137