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The Fall of Phaethon
(Renaissance Europe )
The story of Phaeton, or Pheathon, is described in "The Metamorphoses" by the Roman poet Ovid (43 BC-AD 17). Son of the sun-god Helios, Phaeton once decided to drive his father's chariot across the sky. When he lost control of the horses, endangering the earth, Jupiter killed him with a thunderbolt. Here, Phaeton's mourning sisters are being transformed into trees. Ovid wrote that their tears became amber, carried away by the Eridanus River (today known as the Po River), symbolized by the reclining river god. The swan is Cycnus, Phaeton's friend who was transformed through his grief into a bird.
Bernardi, one of the most important engravers of rock crystal of the Renaissance, made this piece in Rome for Cardinal Ippolito de' Medici (1511-35). It copies a famous design by Michelangelo.
Inscription
Provenance
Provenance (from the French provenir, 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody, or location of a historical object. Learn more about provenance at the Walters.
Strozzi family, Florence. Raoul Heilbronner, Paris; purchased by Henry Walters, Baltimore; by bequest to Walters Art Museum, 1931.
Exhibitions
| 2017-2018 | Michelangelo Divine Draftsman and Designer . The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. |
| 2007-2008 | Déjà Vu? The Repeating Image in Renaissance and Baroque Art. The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore. |
| 2001-2002 | Vita di Michelangelo. Ente Casa Buonarroti, Firenze. |
| 1984 | The Taste of Maryland: Art Collecting in Maryland 1800-1934. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. |
Conservation
| Date | Description | Narrative |
|---|---|---|
| 4/2/1981 | Examination | examined for loan |
| 5/2/1984 | Examination | examined for exhibition |
Geographies
Italy, Rome (Place of Origin)
Measurements
H: 3 1/8 × W: 2 3/4 × D: 5/16 in. (8 × 7 × 0.8 cm)
Credit Line
Acquired by Henry Walters
Location in Museum
Accession Number
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
41.69