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The Demidoff Table

Patron Commissioned by Prince Anatole Demidov
1845
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 555
Commissioned by Count Anatoly Nicolaevich Demidoff. The subject is a complex, cosmological allegory best described in the sculptor's own words: "Stretched out upon the plan of the world is Cupid, god of generation, sustaining and watching over the symbolic genius of dissolute wealth without virtue, who snores in his sleep . . . dreaming of past diversions in pleasure. Left to himself, the genius of ambitious rectitude in work sleeps the agitated sleep of misfortune and glory. . . his head extending beyond the periphery of the world."
The original plaster is in the Gipsoteca Bartoliniana, Florence.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: The Demidoff Table
  • Artist: Lorenzo Bartolini (Italian, 1777–1850)
  • Patron: Commissioned by Prince Anatole Demidov (1845–1870)
  • Date: 1845
  • Culture: Italian, Florence
  • Medium: Marble
  • Dimensions: Overall (confirmed): H. 64 3/8 x W. 51 1/4 x Diam. 49 3/4 x in. (163.5 x 130.2 x 126.4 cm)
  • Classification: Sculpture
  • Credit Line: Gift of le Duc de Loubat, 1903
  • Object Number: 03.11a–d
  • Curatorial Department: European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

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