Sleeping Endymion
Agostino Cornacchini
(Italian (Roman), 1686–1754)
1716
Object PlaceItaly
Medium/TechniqueTerracotta
Dimensions33.7 x 27 x 32 cm (13 1/4 x 10 5/8 x 12 5/8 in.)
Credit LineH. E. Bolles Fund
Accession number56.141
On View
On viewClassificationsSculpture
Collections
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.
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.
Jean-Louis Lemoyne
second half of 18th century
about 1700
