Bacchante Playing the Flute, Renaissance bronze attributed to Riccio

Bacchante Playing the Flute
Attributed to Andrea Briosco, called Riccio (1470–1532), Northern Italy, early 16th century

Bronze
H.: 18.2 cm (7 1/8 in.)
H. (with base): 26.3 cm (10 1/3 in.)

This bronze depicts a young nude woman playing the flute, her cheeks puffed with air. The position of her legs—her right bent under the weight of her body, the left raised—suggests that she is advancing or dancing. Her hairstyle is particularly elaborate: the hair is gathered up on top of the head, with a double braid on each side, and a bun at the back from which two locks fall onto the nape of her neck.

The musician draws inspiration from the ancient iconography of Bacchic processions. She recalls figures of bacchantes dancing and/or playing music (cf. a 2nd-century sarcophagus, Baths of Diocletian, Rome). Yet, our work departs from antiquity through its three-dimensional qualities, the naturalism of the anatomy, and the elegance of the hairstyle (cf. Sandro Botticelli’s portrait of Simonetta Vespucci, Gemäldegalerie). These stylistic features situate the piece in early 16th-century Northern Italy. This dating is further supported by the color of the alloy, the thick black patina, and the casting flaws that attest to the experimental character of the technique at the time.

The author of this work should be sought in Riccio’s circle, if not Riccio himself. First, because the figure clearly belongs to the artist’s iconographic universe. Second, because the bronze presents a type of female face with classical features and a hairstyle composed of braids, a bun, and falling strands that are characteristic of his work. Finally, from a technical point of view, the somewhat rough casting reworked cold, with a thick, dark patina settling in the recesses, is comparable to examples attributed to the master.