1505
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
Dominant colour
Orpheus Charming the Animals is a 1505 by Marcantonio Raimondi, a Renaissance work, depicting Lute, held at Cleveland Museum of Art.
A man sits on a rock, playing a small stringed instrument while animals gather around him. A bear, a dog, and even stones seem to listen. This is Orpheus from Greek myth—his music was so powerful it could tame wild beasts. The artist carved this scene into metal, not painted it. Look closely: the dog’s fur and the folds of Orpheus’s robe are made of tiny lines, not brushstrokes. To see how other artists showed music’s magic, look up *sfumato*.
In Greek mythology, Orpheus was a singer and poet. He was given a lyre by Apollo, the god of music, and was taught to play by the Muses. His songs, melodiously accompanied by his instrument, were so beautiful that they pacified wild animals, calmed the seas, and animated trees and rocks. Here, a subdued bear is depicted in close proximity to a dog, and stones have gathered at the musician’s feet. The instrument depicted here is a lira da braccio, an instrument played by Leonardo da Vinci at the time when this engraving was made.
Read the full account in the museum source.
Marcantonio Raimondi, often called simply Marcantonio (c. 1470/82 – c. 1534), was an Italian engraver, known for being the first important printmaker whose body of work consists largely of prints copying paintings. He…
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