Drunken Satyr
Maker
Fonderia Chiurazzi
(Italian, founded 1870)
Dateearly 20th century
MediumBronze
Dimensions44 x 35 x 68 in. (111.8 x 88.9 x 172.7 cm)
without its base
without its base
ClassificationsSculpture
Credit LineBequest of John Ringling, 1936
Object numberSN5345
Possibly intended as a pendant to the <i>Sleeping Satyr</i> when installed in garden of the Villa of the Papyri, this statue shows a middle-aged satyr in the throes of Dionysiac inebriation. He drunkenly reclines on a rock, which is covered by a lionskin, an attribute of the Greek god of wine, Dionysus. His left arm is supported by a half-empty wineskin while his right arm is upraised, the hand in a gesture associated with festive dancing and pleasure. Both the subject matter and the naturalism of the body, particularly in the flabby and contorted torso, place this squarely in the Hellenistic sculptural tradition.
On View
On view
Set/Set