Mount of Olives
Sculptures
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Child Dionysos with Thyrsus
| Artist | |
|---|---|
| Culture | Italian |
| Date | end of the 17th century, first half of the 18th century |
| Object type | sculpture |
| Medium, technique | painted and gilded limewood and sized and painted canvas |
| Dimensions | 61 × 35 × 30 cm |
| Inventory number | 52.61 |
| Collection | Sculptures |
| On view | Museum of Fine Arts, Second Floor, European Sculpture 1350-1800, Gallery 2 |
This statue depicts Dionysus, the ancient Greek god of wine, religious ecstasy and grape-harvest. The child is holding a thyrsus, often used as an attribute of Dionysus and his followers the maenads (bacchantes). This pine cone topped staff wound round with vine tendrils, symbolised plenty, fertility, and religious ecstasy. This baroque statuette is related to the work of the Genoan sculptor Anton Maria Maragliano. The painting and gilding are extremely elaborate. The coloured surfaces are built up of many layers of paint, creating an unusual effect. The figure’s appearance is even more striking because of the putto’s eyes that are made of glass.
This record is subject to revision due to ongoing research.
Further artworks from this collection