The Satyr and the Peasant

possibly c. 1623/1626

Johann Liss

Artist, German, c. 1597 - 1631

Shown from the about the thighs up, a man, a woman holding a swaddled baby, and a satyr, which has a man’s torso and goat’s legs, sit and stand around a table in a deeply shadowed room, filling this horizontal painting. All the people have light skin and dark hair, and are lit dramatically from our left. To our left, the bare-chested satyr faces our right in profile as he leans toward the table, looking up at the woman. He wears a crown of leaves and has a dark goatee. Almost lost in shadow, a sable-brown horn juts up from his temple. Light falls across his bare shoulders, and his hands and neck are ruddy. Another ring of leaves encircles his waist over the silvery-gray fur of his goat’s legs. He holds his left hand, farther from us, in front of his chest with his open palm facing the couple to our right. His other hand rests at the top of a wooden staff behind his right hip, closer to us. The staff disappears behind a wood plank resting across at least one barrel, which presumably acts as the bench on which he sits on or hovers slightly over. The second man sits at the table to our right, his back mostly to us as he looks over his left shoulder, up toward the satyr, with his face in profile. One brow is cocked over the dark eye we can see, and he has a prominent nose and a mustache. He wears a loose-fitting, long-sleeved, white garment tied around the waist. He blows across a soup spoon held to his lips, his cheeks puffed. He leans on his other arm, which rests on the tabletop near a blue bowl. Across the table, behind the seated man, a woman looks back at the satyr from the corners of her eyes, her coral-red lips curled up in a smile. Her body faces our left and she tilts her head to her left, our right, as she turns her face down toward that shoulder. Her dark brown hair is pulled up and back, and she wears an olive-green wrap over a white shirt. The baby she holds leans away from her chest to twist and look back at the satyr as well. A few details eventually emerge from the deeply shadowed background, including a fourth person tucked into the lower left corner, who looks back over a shoulder at us or the group. Light rims the corner of a window cut from a stone wall, and a few ceramic dishes and cups line two shelves to our right behind the woman.

Media Options

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The unusual subject of this painting comes from one of Aesop's fables. In his Man and the Satyr, he related how a demigod helped a peasant who was lost on a wintry day. When the mortal put his chilled fingers to his mouth to breathe warmth onto them, the immortal satyr was astonished. Later, in thanks for the satyr's guidance, the peasant invited him to eat. The soup being hot, the man blew on his spoon to cool it. Johann Liss portrayed the tale's climax when the satyr jumps up in disgust, proclaiming, "From this moment I renounce your friendship, for I will have nothing to do with one who blows hot and cold with the same breath" -- the moral being that all humans are hypocrites because they inconsistently blow hot and cold.

Johann Liss was among the initiators of the dynamic baroque style of the 1600s. The sonorous color scheme shows his knowledge of past Venetian masters such as Titian and Veronese, while the dramatic conflict of light and shadow reveals an acquaintance with the spotlighting which Caravaggio concurrently employed in Rome. But the main influences here are the energized movement and robust figure types derived from the contemporary Antwerp geniuses, Jacob Jordaens and Peter Paul Rubens.

More information on this painting can be found in the Gallery publication German Paintings of the Fifteenth through Seventeenth Centuries, which is available as a free PDF https://www.nga.gov/content/dam/ngaweb/research/publications/pdfs/german-painting-fifteenth-through-seventeenth-centuries.pdf

On View

West Building Main Floor, Gallery 45

Artwork overview

  • Medium

    oil on canvas

  • Credit Line

    Widener Collection

  • Dimensions

    overall: 133.3 x 167.4 cm (52 1/2 x 65 7/8 in.)

  • Accession

    1942.9.39

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Aron de Joseph de Pinto [d. 1785], Spain and The Netherlands, by 1780.[1] Lopes Leao de Laguna, The Netherlands.[2] (Leo Nardus [1868-1955], Suresnes, France, and New York); sold 1897 to Peter A.B. Widener, Lynnewood Hall, Elkins Park, Pennsylvania; inheritance from the Estate of Peter A.B. Widener by gift through power of appointment of Joseph E. Widener, Elkins Park; gift 1942 to NGA.
[1] Catalogue of Paintings Forming the Private Collection of P.A.B. Widener, Ashbourne-near Philadelphia. Part II. Early English and Ancient Painting. (1885-1900), 270, no. 270. The painting is not listed in the catalogue of the de Pinto sale, Amsterdam, Van der Schley & Yver, 11 April 1785; letter of 16 December 1988 to John Hand from Gerbrand Kotting, Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie, The Hague.
[2] See note 1.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1975

  • Johann Liss, Rathaus, Augsburg, Germany; The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1975-1976, no. A10.

Bibliography

1885

  • Catalogue of Paintings Forming the Collection of P.A.B. Widener, Ashbourne, near Philadelphia. 2 vols. Paris, 1885-1900: 2 (1900): 270, no. 270, repro.

1907

  • Mather, Frank Jewett. "Art in America." The Burlington Magazine 10 (January 1907): 269.

  • Peltzer, R. A. "Liss." In Thieme-Becker. 37 vols. Leipzig, 1907-1950: 23 (1929):286.

1915

  • Mayer, August L. "Notes on Spanish Pictures in American Collections." Art in America 3, no. 6 (October 1915): 316.

1916

  • F. "Aus der Sammlerwelt und vom Kunsthandel." Der Cicerone 8 (1916): 40.

  • Oldenbourg, Rudolf. "An Unidentified Picture by Jan Lys." Art in America 4 (1916): 53-58, fig. 1.

  • Berenson, Bernard, and William Roberts. Pictures in the Collection of P.A.B. Widener at Lynnewood Hall, Elkins Park, Pennsylvania: Early Italian and Spanish Schools. Philadelphia, 1916: unpaginated, repro., as The Satyr and the Traveller, attributed to Velasquez.

1918

  • Oldenbourg, Rudolf. "Gemäldegalerie. Neues über Jan Lys." Amtliche Berichte aus den königlichen Kunstsammlungen 39, no. 6 (März 1918): 114.

  • Borenius, Tancred. "Jan Lys." The Burlington Magazine 33, no. 187 (October 1918): 115.

1920

  • Bode, Wilhelm von. "Johan Lys." Oelhagen & Klasings Monatshefte 33 (1920): 172-173, repro.

1921

  • Oldenbourg, Rudolf. Sei e Settecento Straniero. Jan Lys. (Biblioetca d'arte Illustrata, serie I, fascicolo 7.) Rome, 1921: 10, 15, pl. 17.

1923

  • Paintings in the Collection of Joseph Widener at Lynnewood Hall. Intro. by Wilhelm R. Valentiner. Elkins Park, Pennsylvania, 1923: unpaginated, repro.

1931

  • Paintings in the Collection of Joseph Widener at Lynnewood Hall. Intro. by Wilhelm R. Valentiner. Elkins Park, Pennsylvania, 1931: 44-45, repro.

1935

  • Tietze, Hans. Meisterwerke europäischer Malerei in Amerika. Vienna, 1935: 336, no. 160, repro. (English ed., Masterpieces of European Painting in America. New York, 1939: 160, repro.).

1938

  • Brimo, René. L'Evolution du Goût aux Etats-Unis d'après l'histoire des collections. Paris, 1938: 117.

  • Waldmann, E. "Die Sammlung Widener." Pantheon 22 (November 1938): 340-341.

1939

  • Valentiner, Wilhelm R. "Willem Drost, Pupil of Rembrandt." The Art Quarterly 2, no. 4(Autumn 1939): 322.

  • Waterhouse, Ellis K. "Review of L'Evolution du goût aux Etats-Unis d'après l'histoire des collections by René Brimo." The Burlington Magazine 75, no. 437 (August 1939): 86.

1940

  • Steinbart, Kurt. Johann Liss. Berlin, 1940: 173-174.

1941

  • Valentiner, Wilhelm R. "Jan van de Cappelle." The Art Quarterly 4 (Autumn 1941): 289.

1942

  • Works of Art from the Widener Collection. Foreword by David Finley and John Walker. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1942: no. 5.

1948

  • Paintings and Sculpture from the Widener Collection. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1948 (reprinted 1959): 35, repro.

1956

  • Pigler, Andor. “Der Satyr bei dem Bauern.” In Barockthemen: eine Auswahl von Verzeichnissen zur Ikonographie des 17. und 18. Jahrhunderts. 2 vols. Budapest, 1956: 2:324.

1959

  • Steinbart, Kurt. "Das Werk des Johann Liss in alter und neuer Sicht." Saggi e Memorie di storia dell'arte 2 (1959): 168-170, 204, fig. 13.

1963

  • Walker, John. National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. New York, 1963 (reprinted 1964 in French, German, and Spanish): 309, repro.

1964

  • Kühnel-Kunze, Irene. “New ‘Old Masters’ for the Picture Gallery.” Apollo 80 no. 30 (August 1964): 108.

1965

  • Klessmann, Rüdiger. "Ein neues Werk des Johann Liss in der Berliner Gemäldegalerie." Nordelbingen 34 (1965): 83.

  • Summary Catalogue of European Paintings and Sculpture. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1965: no. 80.

  • Cooke, Hereward Lester. Galeria Nacional de Washington. Translated by Maria Teresa de la Cruz. Madrid, 1965: 23, repro.

1967

  • "Rijksmuseum Amsterdam. Verschillende Verzamelingen." Verslagen der Rijksverzamelingen van geschiedenis en kunst 89 (1967): 98.

1968

  • National Gallery of Art. European Paintings and Sculpture: Illustrations. Washington, 1968: 70, repro.

1974

  • Pigler, Andor. “Der Satyr bei dem Bauern.” In Barockthemen: eine Auswahl von Verzeichnissen zur Ikonographie des 17. und 18. Jahrhunderts. 3 vols. Rev. ed. Budapest, 1974: 2:340.

1975

  • Safarik, Eduard A. "La Mostra di Johann Liss." Review of the exhibition Johann Liss, Cleveland 1975. In Arte Veneta 29 (1975): 303, no. A10.

  • European Paintings: An Illustrated Summary Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1975: 206, repro. 207.

  • Blankenagel, Gabriele. "Johann Liss." Weltkunst 45, no. 17 (1. September 1975): 1,361.

  • Klessmann, Rüdiger. "Johann Liss -- His Life and Work." and Richards, Louise S. "Johann Liss -- Drawings and Prints." In Johann Liss. Exh. cat. Rathaus, Augsburg; The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1975-1976: 24-25, 39, plate A10. (Augsburg edition: 25-35, 39, plate A10.)

  • Rowlands, John. "`Johann Liss' at Augsburg." Review of Johann Liss; Ausstellung (Augsburg 1975). In The Burlington Magazine 117, no. 873 (December 1975): 835.

1976

  • Spear, Richard E. "Johann Liss Reconsidered." The Art Bulletin 58, no. 4 (December 1976): 586, 588, 590-591.

  • Bean, Jacob. "Johann Liss (and Peolo Pagini)." Master Drawings 14, no. 1 (Spring 1976): 65.

  • Butler, Joseph T. "America." The Connoisseur 193, no. 776 (October 1976): 147.

  • “Liss-Werk in USA entdeckt.” Ostholsteiner Nachrichten / Neustädter Tageblatt / Ostholsteinische Kreis-Reundschau nr. 213 (19. September 1976): 3, repro.

1979

  • Shapley, Fern Rusk. Catalogue of the Italian Paintings. 2 vols. Washington, 1979: 1:290-293, no. 635; 2:pl. 206.

1981

  • Pallucchini, Rodolfo. La Pittura Veneziana del Seicento. 2 vols. Milan, 1981: 1:144, 2:605, fig. 397.

1984

  • Walker, John. National Gallery of Art, Washington. Rev. ed. New York, 1984: 232, no. 299, color repro. (as by Jan Lys).

1985

  • European Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1985: 231, repro.

1986

  • Klessmann, Rüdiger. "Addenda to Johann Liss." The Burlington Magazine 128 (1986): 192.

1989

  • Michaelis, Rainer. Deutsche Gemälde, 14.-18. Jahrhundert, Staatliches Museen zu Berlin, Geäldegalerie, Katalog Band 3. 4th ed. Berlin, 1990: 70

1992

  • National Gallery of Art, Washington. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1992: 72, color repro.

1993

  • Hand, John Oliver, with the assistance of Sally E. Mansfield. German Paintings of the Fifteenth through Seventeenth Centuries. The Collections of the National Gallery of Art Systematic Catalogue. Washington, 1993: 121-126, color repro. 123.

1996

  • Klessmann, Rüdiger. "Liss [Lys], Johann." In The Dictionary of Art (33 vols.) New York, 1996: 19:472.

  • Klessmann, Rüdiger. "Johann Liss's "Temptation of the Magdalen'." The Burlington Magazine 138, no. 1,116 (March 1996): 187, 188, 189.

1999

  • Klessmann, Rüdiger. _ Johann Liss: A Monograph and Catalogue Raisonné_. Translated from the German by Diane L. Webb. Doornspijk, 1999: 22, 37, 49-50, 60, 79, 113, 147-149 no. 17.

2015

  • Klessmann , Rudiger. “Liss.” In Allgemeines Künstlerlexikon: die bildenden Künstler aller Zeiten und Völker Unfinished set. Berlin, 1995- : 85:56.

2021

  • Quodbach, Esmée. "A forgotten episode from America's history of collecting: the rise and fall of art dealer Leo Nardus, 1894-1908." Simiolus 43, no. 4 (2021): 353-375, esp. 373 fig. 26.

Wikidata ID

Q20177024

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