Cincinnatus at the Plough

Filarete (Antonio di Pietro Averlino)

mid-15th century · Bronze · European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

Filarete was the earliest Renaissance maker of bronze plaquettes after his own designs, byproducts of his work on the bronze double door of Saint Peter's Basilica in Rome (ca. 1433–45). The door's main reliefs have Christian subjects, but its borders contain figures and myths from classical antiquity. This energetic scene shows the reluctant Roman dictator Cincinnatus, who preferred the rewards of farming to the highest state honors. Only two other examples are known (Staatliche Münzsammlung, Berlin; and Musée du Louvre, Paris).

Artist

Filarete (Antonio di Pietro Averlino)

Date

mid-15th century

Medium

Bronze

Culture

Italian, Rome

Department

European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

Credit line

Edith Perry Chapman Fund, 1996