The Metropolitan Museum of Art - Figure personifying a spring

Art Object

Water Works: Bernini on Piazza Navona

In conjunction with the exhibition Bernini: Sculpting in Clay (on view October 3, 2012–January 6, 2013), Tod Marder, Professor II, Department of Art History, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, outlines the methods Bernini used to design and construct the fountains in Piazza Navona in Rome. Marder also discusses how Bernini's use of models helped him gain valuable commissions and ensure that his fountains would be accurately constructed.

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Figure personifying a spring

Model probably supplied by Guillaume Dupré (French, 1574–1642)

Maker:: Probably made in the pottery at Avon of Claude Bertélemy (French, 1525–1626)
Date:: ca. 1620–25, model ca. 1600–1610
Culture:: French, Fontainebleau or Avon
Medium:: lead-glazed earthenware
Dimensions:: H. 3-3/16 in. (8.1 cm.), L. 7-15/16 in. (20.2 cm.)
Classification:: Ceramics
Credit Line:: Gift of Julia A. Berwind, 1953
Accession Number:: 53.225.54

This artwork is currently on display in Gallery 544

Description

Coiffed and bejeweled in the height of turn-of-the-century courtly fashion, a female nude reclines in a pool of water. The overturned urn and the cornucopia she holds identify her as a personification of a natural spring, a favorite subject of the School of Fontainebleau. The scoop shape suggests that the cup was a toilet accessory, possibly used for bathing, although its fine state of preservation indicates that it likely served a purely decorative function.
Signatures, Inscriptions, and Markings

Marking: On stickers: 1] 15 2] 6761 (Berwind list number)
Provenance

Possibly Émile Gavet (until 1897, possibly this piece; sale, Collection de M. Emile Gavet, Galerie Georges Petit, Paris, May 31–June 9, 1897, no. 514)
See also
Who
Guillaume Dupré (26)

Claude Bertélemy (1)
What
Metal (59,497)

Ceramics (29,329)

Pottery (12,858)

Earthenware (6,695)

Drinking vessels (6,031)

Cups (3,858)

Glazing (3,103)

Lead (1,164)
Where
Europe (150,419)

France (49,644)

Seine-et-Marne (52)

Fontainebleau (21)
In the Museum
European Sculpture and Decorative Arts (43,228)
Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History
Ceramics in the French Renaissance

France, 1600–1800 A.D.

France, 1400–1600 A.D.
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Water Works: Bernini on Piazza Navona

Figure personifying a spring

Model probably supplied by Guillaume Dupré (French, 1574–1642)

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Water Works: Bernini on Piazza Navona

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Figure personifying a spring

Model probably supplied by Guillaume Dupré (French, 1574–1642)

Met Media

Met Kids

Met Store