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Doorknocker with a Satyr Pulling an Ox's Horns
Also known as: Doorknocker; Doorknocker (with devil child)
About the Artwork
Fanciful bronzes such as this one were extremely popular in the late 1500s in the north of Italy, where sculptors such as Andrea Riccio and Severo da Ravenna often featured bizarre imaginary creatures in their sculptures. These artists exerted a long-lasting influence on their peers and followers for the remainder of the 1500s. However, this sculpture was not made in the 1500s. Based on the weight and style of the Doorknocker, it is most likely that it was made in the 1800s to mimic the style of Riccio and his followers. This sculpture is solid; in the 1500s artists created hollow sculptures to reduce the costs of the object and to decrease the chances of flaws in the sculpture. However, in the 1800s when better bronze casting technology evolved and the price of the metal was less costly, artists created solid bronze sculptures based on sixteenth-century designs. In particular, there was a considerable market in England for Renaissance revival doorknockers to be used decoratively on pub doors.
Provenance
Dr. Ernö Wittmann (Budapest, Hungary) R. Stora & Co. (New York, New York), by 1948, sold to Mr. and Mrs. Severance A. Millikin, 1948. Mr. and Mrs. Severance A. Millikin, by gift to the Cleveland Museum of Art, 1948.
Exhibition history
Classic to Baroque: A Style Change in the Arts. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 30-November 13, 1949).
Quick Overview
- Artist
- Andrea Riccio (Italian, c. 1470–1532)
- Date
- 1800s
- Medium
- bronze
- Dimensions
- Overall: 8.8 x 25.2 x 8.8 cm (3 7/16 x 9 15/16 x 3 7/16 in.)
- Type
- Sculpture
- Classification
- Sculpture
- Department
- European Painting and Sculpture
- Credit line
- Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Severance A. Millikin
- Accession no.
- 1948.487
More by Andrea Riccio 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-00010771
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