Public data from the Cleveland Museum of Art. Learn more
About the Artwork
This work was one of numerous sculptures Tietz created for the gardens of Schloss Seehof, near Bamberg in Bavaria (Germany), the summer residence of the Prince Bishops of Bamberg. The exaggerated forms of Orpheus's face and musculature caricature the idealized proportions of classical sculpture. A further parody exists with his companion: the usually terrifying hound Cerberus is here nothing more than a docile puppy, sitting calmly at Orpheus's feet. Meant to be viewed outdoors, on a high pedestal and from a distance, this work is less finely detailed than sculptures Tietz made for indoor settings at Seehof.
Provenance
after 1757 -: commissioned by Adam Friedrich von Seinsheim (1708–1779), Prince Bishop of Bamberg - at least 1965: Garden of Schloss Seehof, near Bamberg (Germany) - 1971: (Dr. Kurt Rossacher, Salzburg, by whom sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)
Exhibition history
Year in Review: 1971. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (December 28, 1971-February 6, 1972).
Quick Overview
- Artist
- Ferdinand Tietz (Austrian, 1708–1777)
- Date
- c. 1765
- Medium
- sandstone
- Dimensions
- with base: 304.8 cm (120 in.); Base: 38.1 x 102.9 x 102.9 cm (15 x 40 1/2 x 40 1/2 in.); without base: 182.9 x 106.7 x 61 cm (72 x 42 x 24 in.); Pedestal: 89.5 x 88.9 x 88.9 cm (35 1/4 x 35 x 35 in.)
- Type
- Sculpture
- Classification
- Sculpture
- Department
- European Painting and Sculpture
- Credit line
- John L. Severance Fund
- Accession no.
- 1971.65
More by Ferdinand Tietz 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-00010717
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