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The sculpture depicts a fantastical creature resembling a fish with anthropomorphic features. It has a large, open mouth with a flared upper lip and a face with a prominent nose. Its body is covered with scales and its limbs are paddle-like. The sculpture is made of metal, likely bronze, and has a dark, aged patina that gives it a brownish-black color. The creature is positioned on a flat surface, with its tail curled and its flipper-like appendages spread out.
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The sculpture depicts a fantastical creature resembling a fish with anthropomorphic features. It has a large, open mouth with a flared upper lip and a face with a prominent nose. Its body is covered with scales and its limbs are paddle-like. The sculpture is made of metal, likely bronze, and has a dark, aged patina that gives it a brownish-black color. The creature is positioned on a flat surface, with its tail curled and its flipper-like appendages spread out.

National Gallery of Art · Sculpture

A Sea Monster

Workshop of Severo da Ravenna

Date
second quarter 16th century
Medium
bronze//Medium brown bronze
Dimensions
overall: 4.5 x 13.3 x 8.8 cm (1 3/4 x 5 1/4 x 3 7/16 in.)
Classification
Sculpture · Small Bronze
Accession number
1957.14.74
Credit line
Samuel H. Kress Collection
Time span
1501 to 1550
Department
CSD
Original NGA record Wikidata

Subjects and terms

  • Paduan
  • fantasy
  • animal
  • Renaissance
  • European Small Bronzes before 1900
  • Ravenna
  • Sea monster
Provenance

Gustave Dreyfus [1837-1914], Paris; his estate; purchased 1930 by (Duveen Brothers, Inc., London and New York); purchased 1945 by the Samuel H. Kress Foundation, New York; gift 1957 to NGA.

NGA object ID 43794. Collection metadata is reproduced under CC0. This work is included because its NGA published-image record is marked open access; visitors should recheck the source record before substantial reuse.