Day 195 - Trition and nereid
October 7, 2019
Gallery 536, which adjoins the Velez Blanco patio, is yet another room I've never seen before. It holds a great collection of bronze statuettes made between 1450 and 1600, primarily in Italy. Most of the works on display have classical themes. That Renaissance artists were inspired by ancient Greece and Rome is one of the most basic things anyone who takes art history ever learns, but that truism (truth?) is amply clear in this gallery.
Today's work is a bronze statuette of Triton and a nereid, perhaps 8 inches high and 4 inches long, made in Padua around 1525. It is labeled as "in the manner of Riccio," aka Andrea Briosco, who was nicknamed "Riccio" for his curly hair. I'd never heard of him before, but he is described by the accompanying placard as "one of the first great entrepreneurs of the small bronze." His use of classical imagery made him popular among humanist collectors, and his success led him to be widely emulated.
I had to look up Triton, a sea god and a son of Poseidon. Wikipedia says he is commonly portrayed with human features to the waist and a fish's body below, but only the first half of that description applies here. His lower half seems to be a platform on which the nereid sits; she grasps his tail with her right hand while her left hand encircles his waist. The god's right arm is raised, while in his left hand, he appears to hold pipes of Pan rather than the conch shell with which he's usually depicted.
I'm frustrated by the way the statuette is displayed - mostly sideways, as shown in the first photo above. If it were presented head-on, we'd be able to see more of the nereid's face and the front of her torso. In my second photo, I photographed the statuette from the rear, to try to give a sense of how a less-obscured nereid might appear, although the lack of lighting makes it difficult to see her features.
But no matter how it's shown, one thing that draws me to the statuette is its tactile quality. I read that these small bronzes were meant to be held as well as looked at. The varied textures of the statuette (the contrast between the smooth skin and the curly hair and beard) and the finely modeled details (his distinct fingers and erect nipples, the cleft of her buttocks) invite touching. And so does the contrast between the statuette's volumes and the spaces between them. I want to curl my finger's around Triton's tail, just as the nereid does.
Today's work is a bronze statuette of Triton and a nereid, perhaps 8 inches high and 4 inches long, made in Padua around 1525. It is labeled as "in the manner of Riccio," aka Andrea Briosco, who was nicknamed "Riccio" for his curly hair. I'd never heard of him before, but he is described by the accompanying placard as "one of the first great entrepreneurs of the small bronze." His use of classical imagery made him popular among humanist collectors, and his success led him to be widely emulated.
I had to look up Triton, a sea god and a son of Poseidon. Wikipedia says he is commonly portrayed with human features to the waist and a fish's body below, but only the first half of that description applies here. His lower half seems to be a platform on which the nereid sits; she grasps his tail with her right hand while her left hand encircles his waist. The god's right arm is raised, while in his left hand, he appears to hold pipes of Pan rather than the conch shell with which he's usually depicted.
I'm frustrated by the way the statuette is displayed - mostly sideways, as shown in the first photo above. If it were presented head-on, we'd be able to see more of the nereid's face and the front of her torso. In my second photo, I photographed the statuette from the rear, to try to give a sense of how a less-obscured nereid might appear, although the lack of lighting makes it difficult to see her features.
But no matter how it's shown, one thing that draws me to the statuette is its tactile quality. I read that these small bronzes were meant to be held as well as looked at. The varied textures of the statuette (the contrast between the smooth skin and the curly hair and beard) and the finely modeled details (his distinct fingers and erect nipples, the cleft of her buttocks) invite touching. And so does the contrast between the statuette's volumes and the spaces between them. I want to curl my finger's around Triton's tail, just as the nereid does.
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