1589
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
The River God Tiber (Study for a fresco, Miracle of the Snow, or the Foundation of Santa Maria Maggiore, Rome in the Canigiani chapel of S. Felicita, Florence) is a 1589 by Bernardino Poccetti, a Renaissance work, held at Cleveland Museum of Art.
The painting shows a bearded man reclining, holding an urn that pours water. He's a river god, personifying the Tiber River in Rome. This sketch is a study for a larger painting. The river god has a gentle face and a relaxed pose. A she-wolf's head and a face are lightly sketched behind him. Check out the work of artist Bernardino Poccetti to see more of his Italian Renaissance style.
Since ancient times, artists have depicted river gods as reclining bearded men, often holding or leaning on a large urn pouring water. This example, a preparatory sketch for a painting, personifies the Tiber River, which plays a role in Rome’s legendary origins. Romulus, the founder of Rome, and his twin brother, Remus, were abandoned as infants at the river, where they were rescued by a she-wolf. Poccetti lightly sketched the animal’s head behind the river god along with the face of Romulus or Remus.
Read the full account in the museum source.
Bernardino Poccetti (26 August 1548 – 10 October 1612), also known as Barbatelli, was an Italian Mannerist painter and printmaker of etchings.
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