A Winged Mermaid
Mount
early 16th century (made)
early 16th century (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
This mount in the form of a winged mermaid is made in North Italy (Padua), in the early 16th century by the workshop of Il Riccio. Although the mount could possibly be a fake.
Riccio (1470-1532) - meaning 'Curly-Head' - worked primarily in bronze and is acknowledged as the master of the bronze statuette during the late 15th and early 16th centuries. He was active in the humanist circle of the University of Padua, in north-east Italy.
Riccio was trained as a goldsmith and lived and worked all his live in Padua. Today he is acknowledged as one of the greatest bronze sculptors of the Renaissance.
His statuettes, functional objects, like oil lamps, and reliefs reflect Riccio's inimitable ability to express the most refined humanist ideas prevalent in the Veneto in bronze.
He was also a specialist in rendering themes of Classical mythology.
His oeuvre is often neglected because of its small scale, but it constitutes one of the most fascinating manifestations of the poetic paganism of the High Renaissance.
Riccio (1470-1532) - meaning 'Curly-Head' - worked primarily in bronze and is acknowledged as the master of the bronze statuette during the late 15th and early 16th centuries. He was active in the humanist circle of the University of Padua, in north-east Italy.
Riccio was trained as a goldsmith and lived and worked all his live in Padua. Today he is acknowledged as one of the greatest bronze sculptors of the Renaissance.
His statuettes, functional objects, like oil lamps, and reliefs reflect Riccio's inimitable ability to express the most refined humanist ideas prevalent in the Veneto in bronze.
He was also a specialist in rendering themes of Classical mythology.
His oeuvre is often neglected because of its small scale, but it constitutes one of the most fascinating manifestations of the poetic paganism of the High Renaissance.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | A Winged Mermaid (generic title) |
| Materials and techniques | Bronze |
| Brief description | Mount, bronze, form of a winged mermaid, by Il Riccio, Italy (Padua), early 16th century, probably a fake |
| Physical description | Mount in the form of a winged mermaid with tails spread wide. |
| Dimensions |
|
| Object history | From the Salting bequest. |
| Production | it could possibly be fake |
| Subject depicted | |
| Summary | This mount in the form of a winged mermaid is made in North Italy (Padua), in the early 16th century by the workshop of Il Riccio. Although the mount could possibly be a fake. Riccio (1470-1532) - meaning 'Curly-Head' - worked primarily in bronze and is acknowledged as the master of the bronze statuette during the late 15th and early 16th centuries. He was active in the humanist circle of the University of Padua, in north-east Italy. Riccio was trained as a goldsmith and lived and worked all his live in Padua. Today he is acknowledged as one of the greatest bronze sculptors of the Renaissance. His statuettes, functional objects, like oil lamps, and reliefs reflect Riccio's inimitable ability to express the most refined humanist ideas prevalent in the Veneto in bronze. He was also a specialist in rendering themes of Classical mythology. His oeuvre is often neglected because of its small scale, but it constitutes one of the most fascinating manifestations of the poetic paganism of the High Renaissance. |
| Bibliographic reference | The Rival of Nature : Renaissance painting in its context, London : National Gallery, 1975
126 |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | M.689-1910 |
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| Record created | June 24, 2009 |
| Record URL |
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