The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of March 29, 2024

Spring

Spring

mid-1700s

after a design by Massimiliano Soldani

(Italian, 1656–1740)
Overall: 40.6 x 55.9 cm (16 x 22 in.)

Did You Know?

This relief representing spring includes many creatures: lions, a dog, and an eagle can all be spotted.

Description

Although most 18th-century European porcelain factories produced three-dimensional works, these were often small figures intended to ornament dinner tables or mantelpieces. The factory at Doccia outside Florence was more ambitious, turning to baroque sculptors of the great local tradition to supply models for works in porcelain. In 1743 the factory purchased from the heirs of the famous Florentine sculptor Massimiliano Soldani (1656-1740) a number of that artist's models. Included were models for a series of reliefs representing the four seasons that were created by Soldani in 1708 for Ferdinando de' Medici. One of the reliefs was Spring, or The Realm of Flora, which was then executed in porcelain.
  • Rainer Zietz Ltd., sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art, 1999.
  • Cleveland Museum of Art, “Cleveland Museum of Art Acquires Rare Chinese Paintings, Baroque Porcelain Plaque and Other New Acquisitions Exhibited with Hanging Scrolls,” December 20, 1999, Cleveland Museum of Art Archives. archive.org
  • {{cite web|title=Spring|url=false|author=Doccia Porcelain Factory, Massimiliano Soldani|year=mid-1700s|access-date=29 March 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1999.213