1657
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
A Satyr Family Traveling is a 1657 by Stefano Della Bella, a Baroque work, held at Cleveland Museum of Art.
You see a satyr family on the move: dad with goat legs, mom carrying a baby, a kid on a donkey, and a girl dancing beside a goat herd. They’re hauling baskets of grapes. Della Bella borrowed the pose from images of the Holy Family fleeing to Egypt—but here, the mood is wild and earthy. Instead of holiness, you get wine, dancing, and bare skin. To see how other artists played with sacred scenes, look up *Italy, 17th century*.
The idea of a satyr family captured the imagination of many artists. Stefano Della Bella’s portrayal features a father and mother who travel with their satyr son, maenad daughter, and a herd of goats while carrying a grape harvest. Della Bella deliberately evoked images of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph on their flight to Egypt. Whereas the Holy Family is sacred and chaste, the satyr family is rooted in bodily pleasures. Theirs is a union fueled by wine and revelry, embodying the reckless fertility of nature.
The patriarch of this satyr family carries a pan flute on his hip. Named for Pan, shepherd god and friend of Bacchus in classical mythology, the pan flute was associated with pastoral settings.
Read the full account in the museum source.
Stefano della Bella (18 May 1610 – 12 July 1664) was an Italian draughtsman and printmaker known for etchings of a great variety of subjects, including military and court scenes, landscapes, and lively genre scenes.
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