Kneeling Satyr Supporting the Figure of an Emperor

c. 1500

Severo da Ravenna

Associated Names
Severo da Ravenna

Artist, Paduan, active 1496 - 1525/1538

The sculpture depicts a bearded male figure, identified as a satyr or faun, who is part human and part goat, as indicated by his goat-like legs and hooves. He is in a kneeling position, holding a much smaller human figure in his left hand, raised towards his face. The overall color of the sculpture is a dark, metallic bronze. The sculpture has a lifelike quality due to its detailed depiction of muscles and textured hair, giving the figure a dynamic pose, and it is displayed on a simple, neutral-colored rectangular base.

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    bronze

  • Credit Line

    Pepita Milmore Memorial Fund

  • Dimensions

    overall (without base): 23.8 x 12.4 x 11.3 cm (9 3/8 x 4 7/8 x 4 7/16 in.)
    base: 7.9 x 12.7 cm (3 1/8 x 5 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1985.12.1

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Private collection, Frankfurt; (J. and S. Goldschmidt, Frankfurt-am-Main); private collection, New York; (Rosenberg & Stiebel, New York); purchased 13 February 1985 by NGA.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1985

  • Renaissance Bronzes and Later Sculpture, Paul Rosenberg & Co., New York, 1985, no. 5, repro., as Kneeling Satyr.

1989

  • Renaissance and Baroque Bronzes, Milwaukee Museum of Art, 1989, brochure, no. 5.

Bibliography

1982

  • Keeble, K. Corey. European Bronzes in the Royal Ontario Museum. Toronto, 1982: 42.

1994

  • Sculpture: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1994: 217, repro.

1998

  • Avery, Charles, Marzia Ratti, and Angela Acordon, eds. Sculture: bronzetti, placchette, medaglie. Museo Civico Amedeo Lia, La Spezia. [Cinisello Balsamo], 1998: 94, no. 53.

2010

  • Luchs, Alison. The Mermaids of Venice: Fantastic Sea Creatures in Venetian Renaissance Art. Turnhout, Belgium, 2010: 160-161, 160 fig. 208, 221 n. 16.

Wikidata ID

Q63861099

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