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Sleeping Endymion
Agostino Cornacchini (Italian (Roman), 1686–1754)
Italian
1716
Object Place: Europe, Italy
Medium/Technique
Terracotta
Dimensions
33.7 x 27 x 32 cm (13 1/4 x 10 5/8 x 12 5/8 in.)
Credit Line
H. E. Bolles Fund
Accession Number56.141
CollectionsEurope
ClassificationsSculpture
This terra cotta represents the shepherd Endymion, beloved of Diana, goddess of the moon. Jupiter granted him eternal youth through eternal sleep, and Diana protected him as he slept. Created as a model for a bronze, this terra cotta was also appreciated as a work of art in itself. The delicate modeling of Endymion's head and flesh, his charming dog, and the details of costume and foliage exemplify the freshness and immediacy of the terra cotta medium.
DescriptionOn rough hewn crag, flowers & sleeping setter at base. Furred cloak (broken at back). Chiseled uneven back surface with hole. Signed and dated in hollow underneath.
Signed
Incised on back of rock base: "Ag Cor/nacchini/1716".
ProvenanceBy 1722, Francesco Maria Niccolò Gabburri (b. 1676 - d. 1742), Florence [see note 1]. May 1941, sold by Mathias Göhringer (dealer; b. 1889 - d. 1941), Freiburg and Munich to Julius Böhler, Munich [see note 2]; 1950, sold by Böhler to Blumka Gallery, New York; 1956, sold by Blumka Gallery to the MFA for $800. (Accession Date: March 8, 1956)
NOTES:
[1] See Bruce Boucher et al., "Earth and Fire: Italian Terracotta Sculpture from Donatello to Canova" (New Haven and London, 2001), p. 234. The sculpture was listed in Gabburri's 1722 inventory.
[2] Correspondence from Galerie Julius Böhler to the MFA (May 9, 2006; in MFA curatorial file) and the Julius Böhler archive online (Zentralinstitut für Kunstgeschichte), no. 41393.
NOTES:
[1] See Bruce Boucher et al., "Earth and Fire: Italian Terracotta Sculpture from Donatello to Canova" (New Haven and London, 2001), p. 234. The sculpture was listed in Gabburri's 1722 inventory.
[2] Correspondence from Galerie Julius Böhler to the MFA (May 9, 2006; in MFA curatorial file) and the Julius Böhler archive online (Zentralinstitut für Kunstgeschichte), no. 41393.