The Goat Amalthea with the Infant Jupiter and a Faun

Coordinates: 41°54′50.4″N 12°29′31.2″E / 41.914000°N 12.492000°E / 41.914000; 12.492000
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The Goat Amalthea with the Infant Jupiter and a Faun
ArtistGian Lorenzo Bernini
Year1609–15 (1609–15)
Catalogue1
TypeSculpture
MediumCarrara marble
Dimensions44 cm (17 in)
LocationGalleria Borghese, Rome
Coordinates41°54′50.4″N 12°29′31.2″E / 41.914000°N 12.492000°E / 41.914000; 12.492000
Followed byBust of Giovanni Battista Santoni

The Goat Amalthea with the Infant Jupiter and a Faun is the earliest known work by the Italian artist Gian Lorenzo Bernini. Produced sometime between 1609 and 1615,[1][2][3] the sculpture is now in the Borghese Collection at the Galleria Borghese in Rome.

Background[edit]

According to Filippo Baldinucci, even before Pietro Bernini moved his family from Naples to Rome, eight-year-old Gian Lorenzo created a "small marble head of a child that was the marvel of everyone".[4] Throughout his teenage years, he produced numerous images containing putti, chubby male children usually nude and sometimes winged. Distinct from cherubim, who represent the second order of angels, these putti figures were secular and presented a non-religious passion.[5]

Of the three surviving marble groups of putti that can be attributed to Bernini, The Goat Amalthea with the Infant Jupiter and a Faun is the only one that is approximately dateable. In 1615, a carpenter was paid for providing a wooden pedestal for the sculpture group.[3] Some writers date the work as early as 1609, based on stylistic grounds and an interpretation of the 1615 pedestal invoice indicating that the base was a replacement.[1][3]

Description[edit]

The sculpture shows Amalthea as a goat, the infant god Jupiter, and an infant Faun.

See also[edit]

References[edit]

Notes
  1. ^ a b Wittkower 1955, p. 231.
  2. ^ Mormando 2011, p. 29.
  3. ^ a b c Avery 1997, p. 19.
  4. ^ Baldinucci 2006, p. 8.
  5. ^ Dempsey 2000, pp. 3–4.
Bibliography
  • Avery, Charles (1997). Bernini: Genius of the Baroque. London: Thames and Hudson. ISBN 9780500286333.
  • Baldinucci, Filippo (2006) [1682]. The Life of Bernini. University Park: Pennsylvania State University Press. ISBN 9780271730769.
  • Bernini, Domenico (2011) [1713]. The Life of Giano Lorenzo Bernini. University Park: Pennsylvania State University Press. ISBN 9780271037486.
  • Dempsey, Charles (2000). Inventing the Renaissance Putto. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina. ISBN 9780807826164.
  • Mormando, Franco (2011). Bernini: His Life and His Rome. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 9780226538525.
  • Wittkower, Rudolf (1955). Gian Lorenzo Bernini: The Sculptor of the Roman Baroque. London: Phaidon Press. ISBN 9780714837154.

External links[edit]

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