Apollo

Makerpossibly by Pier Jacopo Alari Bonacolsi Mantuan, called Antico (Italian)

Collections

European Sculpture Highlights

ClassificationsSCULPTURE

Dateca. 1500

Mediumbronze

Dimensions15 3/8 in. (39.1 cm.)

DescriptionThe statuette portraying a standing nude male figure was inspired by the Apollo Belvedere, a celebrated marble sculpture from classical antiquity now in the Vatican Museums.

Credit LineThe Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens

Status

On view

Label TextRenaissance patrons sought objects for their homes that both embodied their culture and refinement and served as sources of delectation and contemplation. Often made in imitation of classical sculpture, either as reduced copies of known sculptures or invented subjects produced all'antica (in the style of antiquity), small bronzes contributed to the spread of classical taste in the 15th and 16th centuries. A collector would likely have kept such statuettes in a private study along with books and other objects of fascination, such as scientific instruments or natural specimens.

Object number17.3