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Source Description
In antiquity, hippocamps, or sea horses, mythical creatures that were half horse and half fish, were represented drawing the chariot of Neptune, Roman god of the sea. Renaissance artists in the territory of Venice, which trumpeted itself as ruler of the seas, delighted in representing the sea god and his steeds. The wider fascination for monstrous beasts of bronze, in imitation of Roman tastes, among northern Italian humanists and sculptors also prompted an interest in the creature.In old photographs such as this one, a rider (54.465A), facing backward in a very precarious position is included. Technical and stylistic analyses show that the figure was not part of the original conception and has been removed.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
79132
label
Hippocamp (Sea Horse)
core
obj
dtoType
object
citationUrl
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
79132
sourceUrl
contentType
object
stage
normalized
title
Hippocamp (Sea Horse)
description
In antiquity, hippocamps, or sea horses, mythical creatures that were half horse and half fish, were represented drawing the chariot of Neptune, Roman god of the sea. Renaissance artists in the territory of Venice, which trumpeted itself as ruler of the seas, delighted in representing the sea god and his steeds. The wider fascination for monstrous beasts of bronze, in imitation of Roman tastes, among northern Italian humanists and sculptors also prompted an interest in the creature.In old photographs such as this one, a rider (54.465A), facing backward in a very precarious position is included. Technical and stylistic analyses show that the figure was not part of the original conception and has been removed.
provenance
Acquired by Henry Walters, Baltimore; by bequest to Walters Art Museum, 1931.
date
1510-1540 (Renaissance)
citationUrl
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
genreSpecific
statuettes (statues)
bronzes
imageCount
1
pageCount
1
source
import
dimensions
units
cm
width
20
height
28.6
dimensionsRaw
H: 7 7/8 × W: 11 1/4 in. (20 × 28.58 cm)
Source extras
med
bronze, marble base
creator_ids
4042
collection_ids
REN
exhibition_ids
none
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
2c478884c055fd19