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Georg Vischer

Fertility

Maker

Georg Vischer (German, 1520-1592)

Title

Fertility

Year

ca. 1550

Medium

  • bronze

Materials/Techniques

Techniques

  • bronze

Materials

bronze

Dimensions

Height: 60.3 cm (23 3/4 inches)

Credit / Object Number

Credit

Museum Acquisition Fund and gift of friends

Object Number

20.139

Type

  • Sculpture

Publications

  • Books

A Handbook of the Museum of Art, Rhode Island School of Design

Exhibition History

Raid the Icebox Now with Nicole Eisenman
Tonight We Are Going Out And We Are All Getting Hammered
Nov 01, 2019 – May 01, 2021
Intermission
Dec 16, 2016 – Jul 02, 2017

Label copy

This nude female reflects the influence of Italianate, classical ideals of beauty in northern Europe and particularly Nuremberg, Germany, where Vischer’s family ran a bronze foundry. The figure holds a branch with a nut in her right hand and gently squeezes her breast with her left, gestures that together symbolize fertility.

During the Renaissance, wealthy collectors prized small bronzes such as this because they evoked similar statues made in ancient Greece and Rome. Bronze figures were admired for their graceful lines and layered, dark lacquers. Such a precious object would have been displayed in a room dedicated to intellectual pursuits and full of private possessions, mostly secular in nature.

From the Reserve I
Paintings of Quality from the Museum's Collection
Apr 09, 1994 – Aug 03, 1994

Image use

The images on this website can enable discovery and collaboration and support new scholarship, and we encourage their use.

Public Domain This object is in the Public Domain and available under a CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication

Tombstone

Georg Vischer (German, 1520-1592)
Fertility, ca. 1550
Bronze
Height: 60.3 cm (23 3/4 inches)
Museum Acquisition Fund and gift of friends 20.139

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Feedback

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