Balthasar Permoser, CC0 1.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Marsyas
by Balthasar Permoser, 1680
Artwork Details
Details
- Year
- 1680
- Medium
- Marble on a black marble socle inlaid with light marble panels
- Size
- confirmed: 27 × 17 3/8 × 11 1/8 in., 133.8 lb. (68.6 × 44.1 × 28.3 cm, 60.7 kg) socle, confirmed: 6 1/4 in. (15.9 cm) yellow marble display column (wt confirmed): 644 lb. (295.7 kg)
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Balthasar Permoser carved this marble around 1680-1685, early in his career while working in Italy. It depicts the satyr Marsyas screaming in agony as he is flayed alive for losing a musical contest to the god Apollo. Every detail conveys torment: squinting eyes, torn tongue, and flame-like hair standing on end.
Permoser was deeply influenced by Bernini, particularly his 1619 sculpture "Damned Soul." The deliberately rough, flame-like hair contrasts sharply with the precise anatomical carving of the face and body. The unfinished back and a bracket emplacement suggest it was designed for a wall niche, probably in a palace courtyard.
Made of marble with a black marble socle, it measures 27 x 17 3/8 x 11 1/8 inches. It's in the Carroll and Milton Petrie European Sculpture Court at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, acquired in 2002.
