Young Centaur

Maker Fonderia Chiurazzi (Italian, founded 1870)

Dateearly 20th century

CultureItalian

MediumBronze

ClassificationSculpture

Credit LineBequest of John Ringling, 1936

Object numberSN5037

Centaurs are creatures from Greek mythology with the upper body of a man and the lower half of a horse. They appear throughout Greek and Roman art, often as hunters. This statue is one of a pair of centaurs, one young, the other old, unearthed at the villa of the Roman Emperor Hadrian (ruled 117-138 AD) in 1736. Originally, on the back of each centaur would have sat the Greek god of love and desire, Eros, whose presence produces two diverging reactions: the young centaur gallops freely and snaps his fingers in delight, while the older has his hands tied behind him, his passion hindered by age.

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