Image

Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 / 14 Next

Giambologna

River God (The Virile Age; The Euphrates), ca. 1575

Now On View

Description

Maker

Title

River God (The Virile Age; The Euphrates)

Year

ca. 1575

Medium

Terracotta

Materials/Techniques

Materials

Dimensions

48.3 x 43.5 x 31.8 cm (19 x 17 1/8 x 12 1/2 inches)

Type

Credit

Museum Works of Art Fund and Museum Special Reserve Fund

Object Number

44.674

Projects & Publications

Publications

Exhibition History

Exhibition History

European Galleries

This ceramic sculpture of a river god glorifies the human body, a key interest of Humanism. Balancing on one foot, the figure creates an impression of exaggerated physical strength.

The artist made the work as a model for his Fountain of the Ocean, a multi-figural monument commissioned by Cosimo I de’ Medici for the Boboli Gardens, adjacent to his palace in Florence. This figure may have been presented by the artist to his patron in gratitude for the commission, and perhaps in homage to his patron’s virility.

Use

The images on this website can enable discovery and collaboration and support new scholarship, and we encourage their use. This object is in the public domain (CC0 1.0). This object is River God (The Virile Age; The Euphrates) with the accession number of 44.674. To request high-resolution files or new photography, please send an email to imagerequest@risd.edu and include your name and the object's accession number.