The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 19, 2024

Thetis Running

Thetis Running

c. 1527

workshop of Severo da Ravenna

(Italian, c.1496-c.1543)
Italy, Ravenna, 16th century
bronze
Overall: 18.2 cm (7 3/16 in.)
Norman O. Stone and Ella A. Stone Memorial Fund 1963.92
Location: 117A Italian Renaissance

Description

The complex, corkscrew-like twist of the figure’s body around a central axis indicates that this work was meant to be seen and admired in the round. Producing a sculpture of a body in motion posed a challenge for Renaissance artists, and complex compositions like this were often adapted from prints and paintings. The pose of this bronze statuette may have been inspired by a print representing the Greek sea goddess Thetis. Thetis was courted by the gods Zeus (Jupiter) and Poseidon (Neptune), but was eventually married to the mortal Peleus; the Greek hero Achilles was their son. In the print, Thetis pours water from a jug held at her hip and her upraised foot rests on a large shell, both referencing her role as sea goddess. The statuette’s lack of identifying attributes encourages the viewer to focus instead on the figure’s graceful spiraling form, and the sculptor’s skill in creating a convincing sense of movement.
  • Probably Catalina von Pannwitz, 1876-1959 (Bennebroek, Netherlands), by 1925.
    Rosenberg & Stiebel, Inc. (New York, New York), sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art, 1963
  • The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1966. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1966. Reproduced: p. 93 archive.org
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1969. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1969. Reproduced: p. 93 archive.org
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978. Reproduced: p. 105 archive.org
  • The Triumph of Humanism. Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco, Legion of Honor, San Francisco, CA (organizer) (October 22, 1977-January 9, 1978).
    Cleveland Museum of Art, "Renaissance Bronzes from Ohio Collections," September 24, 1975 to November 16, 1975, cat. no. 81.
    Italian Renaissance Works of Art. The Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center, Poughkeepsie, NY (organizer) (May 3-June 9, 1968).
    Vassar College Art Gallery, May 3 to June 9, 1968, "Exhibition in Honor of Leila Cook Barber."
    Juxtapositions. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (September 11-October 10, 1965).
    Year in Review (1963). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (November 27, 1963-January 5, 1964).
    Detroit Institute of Arts, "Decorative ARts of the Italian Renaissance, 1400-1600, 1958, no. 255 (as Dancer)
  • {{cite web|title=Thetis Running|url=false|author=Severo da Ravenna|year=c. 1527|access-date=19 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1963.92