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Andrea Riccio

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Satyr and Satyress c. 1510–20 Bronze Victoria and Albert Museum, London Presented by the National Art Collections Fund, 1949 Cat. No. 1

Though intertwined in erotic embrace, these mythological creatures seem love-struck rather than wanton. Riccio has explored their tender emotion as well as physical passion. In a scholar’s study, the Satyr and Satyress probably sat on a shelf, leaning forward with legs dangling. Thus seated they introduced Nature’s irrepressible sensuality into a room dedicated to the life of the mind. Riccio modeled these figures in the wax with vigor, forming their coarse features with his fingers, and inscribing their hair with sharp pointed tools. Riccio then enlivened the metal surface with minute, shallow hammer strokes whose concave impressions allow light to flicker over the bronze.

Riccio (?) Triton and Nereid cast before 1532 (?) Bronze Museo Nazionale del Bargello, Florence Cat. No. 2

The triton, half-fish half-man, carries the female nereid over the sea. In this inventive composition with distinct male and female sides, Riccio contrasts the emotions of the aggressive triton with those of his introspective companion. He has transformed a motif common in classical relief into a sculpture for placement on a scholar’s desk that is satisfying from many viewpoints. The Bargello Triton and Nereid is the finest of the many bronze versions of this popular model, and may be the only surviving example from the master’s shop. The Satyr and Satyress, one of Riccio’s masterpieces, is similar to this work in inventive classical subject and vigorous detail. The two groups are juxtaposed for the first time for comparison.

Satyr (Pan?) c. 1520 (?) Bronze The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Purchase, Gifts of Irwin Untermyer, Ogden Mills and George Blumenthal, Bequest of Julia H. Manges and Frederick C. Hewitt Fund, by exchange; and Rogers and Pfeiffer Funds Cat. No. 8

The satyr stands upright and majestically strides forward. His powerfully muscled torso closely resembles Riccio’s heroic nudes, like the beggar in the Saint Martin relief in this gallery. He is most probably Pan, the satyr deity who reigns over the material world. Designed to stand on a scholar’s desk, he carried the attributes of a flaming conch-shell lamp and an ink-filled vase, perhaps symbolizing Pan’s dominion over the elements. Such pairings of figure and function are rare in Riccio’s work, but the extraordinary balance of the topheavy figure on just two small hooves is typical of Riccio’s technical mastery.

Drinking Satyr c. 1515–20 Bronze Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna, Kunstkammer Cat. No. 10

The satyr pulls up his legs and bends toward his upraised bowl; his corded neck strains with drinking. Part man and part goat, satyrs represented fiery lustful impulses. In the scholar’s study this Satyr’s burning thirst might have evoked the scholar’s own unquenchable desire for knowledge. The Vienna statuette is considered the finest of Riccio’s Drinking Satyrs. This sharply cast bronze preserves every detail Riccio modeled in the wax. Painstaking hammering of the metal surface animates the muscular figure. In Riccio’s hands, an uncouth beast becomes a refined, even poetic, being.

Drinking Satyr c. 1520 (?) Bronze (upturned lower legs are nineteenth-century additions) Musei Civici, Museo d’Arte Medioevale e Moderna, Padua Cat. No. 11

Riccio’s three Drinking Satyrs are brought together here for the first time for comparison. They are thought to derive from the same model. It remains to be determined whether Riccio personally executed the individual wax casting models for the Padua and Paris bronzes, both of which lack goat-like horns. Such differences result from changes made in the wax, and they impart a variety of moods. Unlike the Vienna version, the Padua Satyr physically expresses his lustful character. He is ithyphallic and greedily sucks at the bowl. The considerable differences among the tooling and punchmark dots on the surface of the three bronzes also create varied aesthetic effects.

Drinking Satyr c. 1520 (?) Bronze Musée du Louvre, Paris, Département des Objets d’Art Cat. No. 12

Unlike the other two Drinking Satyrs, the Louvre Satyr raises his left hand rather than resting it on his leg. The hole in the clenched fist possibly accommodated an inkwell or candleholder. Such utilitarian pairings of figure and function are highly unusual for Riccio. Like its counterparts, this statuette probably was designed to sit on a desk in a scholar’s study. There the Satyr’s upward movement would have met the owner’s downward gaze. The figure’s beautifully modeled, muscular back invites the touch, and its curved form could be comfortably cradled in the admirer’s hand. Continue >>>

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