Mercury

Severo Calzetta da Ravenna

mid-16th century · Bronze, on an ancient bronze base · European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

Mercury, with open mouth and fairly expansive gesture (his left hand once held a caduceus), appears in his role as god of eloquence. A more energetic variation of the model has bulging thighs.[1] Squarish plugs, characteristic of Severo’s workshop, are above the buttocks. The statuette was later mounted by two screws to a waisted bronze socle with a beaded molding, and a green patina of uncertain date was probably supplied to make the piece look “Roman.” -JDD Footnotes (For key to shortened references see bibliography in Allen, Italian Renaissance and Baroque Bronzes in The Metropolitan Museum of Art. NY: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2022.) 1. Private collection, Munich (as “Meister der Götterfiguren”), per Weihrauch 1967, fig. 125.

Artist

Severo Calzetta da Ravenna

Date

mid-16th century

Medium

Bronze, on an ancient bronze base

Culture

Italian, Ravenna

Department

European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

Credit line

Gift of George Blumenthal, 1941