Public data from the Cleveland Museum of Art. Learn more
About the Artwork
A famous preacher from an aristocratic family in Genoa, Sauli (1534-1591) spearheaded important Catholic reforms, including popular missions and restructuring the church to reach a broader spectrum of worshippers. This sculpture is a model for a large statue commissioned by the Sauli family for a Genoese church. Although the open book speaks to Sauli’s work as a reformer, his twisting body and facial expression indicate utter absorption in a deeply personal vision.
Provenance
Possibly Marquesses Pallavicini (Genoa, Italy) Baudouin-Gounelle collection (Marseilles, France) Henri Dobler, 1863-1941 (Aix-en-Provence, France) Possibly art market (Paris, France) 1964: Blumka Gallery (New York, New York), sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art.
Exhibition history
Year in Review (1964). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (December 8, 1964-January 31, 1965). Juxtapositions. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (September 11-October 10, 1965). Baroque Imagery. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (November 6, 1984-January 6, 1985).
Quick Overview
- Artist
- Pierre Puget (French, 1620–1694)
- Date
- 1663–1668
- Medium
- terracotta
- Dimensions
- Overall: 69.7 cm (27 7/16 in.)
- Type
- Sculpture
- Classification
- Sculpture
- Department
- European Painting and Sculpture
- Credit line
- Andrew R. and Martha Holden Jennings Fund
- Accession no.
- 1964.36
More by Pierre Puget in museum collections
Data retrieved from the Cleveland Museum of Art on October 8, 2026. The museum may have updated its record since.
Open-access museum record · AT-00010646
Powered by Art Trackers