The Mountain of Hell
Group
1550-1560 (made)
1550-1560 (made)
Artist/Maker | |
Place of origin |
This bronze illustrates Ovid's description of Juno's visit to the Underworld (Metamorphoses, iv, 447-463). The composition was originally completed by free-standing figures of Alcestis, Hercules and Sisyphus. The scene probably formed the lid of a perfume burner and is bored to emit smoke.
The sculptor Agostino Zoppo was trained in bronze-casting. He was employed as a founder by Jacopo Sansovino, the leading sculptor in Venice during the sixteenth century. Tow pairs of Mountains of Hell are mentioned in the inventory of Zoppo's studio after his death. The left foot of the missing figure of Sisyphus is still attached, and the small, regular holes indicate where core pins (or chaplets) were placed. A related group of poor quality is now in the Szepmuveszeti Muzeum in Budapest, and two others, formerly in the Figdor Collection, Berlin, were destroyed in 1945.
The sculptor Agostino Zoppo was trained in bronze-casting. He was employed as a founder by Jacopo Sansovino, the leading sculptor in Venice during the sixteenth century. Tow pairs of Mountains of Hell are mentioned in the inventory of Zoppo's studio after his death. The left foot of the missing figure of Sisyphus is still attached, and the small, regular holes indicate where core pins (or chaplets) were placed. A related group of poor quality is now in the Szepmuveszeti Muzeum in Budapest, and two others, formerly in the Figdor Collection, Berlin, were destroyed in 1945.
Object details
Categories | |
Object type | |
Title | The Mountain of Hell (generic title) |
Materials and techniques | Bronze |
Brief description | Group, bronze, Mountain of Hell, by Agostino Zoppo, Italy (Padua), ca. 1550-1560 |
Physical description | Cerberus is shown guarding the entrance, the three Furies gesticulate above, and Tityus lies prostrate, his vitals being torn at by a bird of prey. |
Dimensions |
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Object history | Bought from A. Spero, for £750, in 1953. |
Historical context | The scene probably formed the lid of a perfume burner and is bored to emit smoke. |
Subjects depicted | |
Summary | This bronze illustrates Ovid's description of Juno's visit to the Underworld (Metamorphoses, iv, 447-463). The composition was originally completed by free-standing figures of Alcestis, Hercules and Sisyphus. The scene probably formed the lid of a perfume burner and is bored to emit smoke. The sculptor Agostino Zoppo was trained in bronze-casting. He was employed as a founder by Jacopo Sansovino, the leading sculptor in Venice during the sixteenth century. Tow pairs of Mountains of Hell are mentioned in the inventory of Zoppo's studio after his death. The left foot of the missing figure of Sisyphus is still attached, and the small, regular holes indicate where core pins (or chaplets) were placed. A related group of poor quality is now in the Szepmuveszeti Muzeum in Budapest, and two others, formerly in the Figdor Collection, Berlin, were destroyed in 1945. |
Bibliographic references |
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Collection | |
Accession number | A.62-1953 |
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Record created | June 24, 2009 |
Record URL |
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