Pluto and Cerberus

After Giovanni Battista di Jacopo Italian

early 17th century

On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 532

The god of the underworld is posed at the mouth of hell with his fierce three-headed companion, Cerberus, who exhibits the features of a spaniel, a lion, and a wolf. Pluto has lost the spear on which he leaned. Rosso Fiorentino, a painter and a printmaker, was prominent among the Italian artists lured to France by François I. His drawing for Pluto was engraved several times. This cast is probably the one that belonged to the great seventeenth-century sculptor and collector François Girardon.

Artwork Details

Overview

Provenance

Exhibition History

Title: Pluto and Cerberus
Artist: After Giovanni Battista di Jacopo (Italian, Florence 1494–1540 Fontainebleau)
Date: early 17th century
Culture: French
Medium: Bronze
Dimensions: Height: 11 3/8; Width (elbow to forearm): 3 5/8; maximun depth (diagonal from tree trunk support behind leg to front edge of base): 5 1/16 in. (28.9 x 9.2 x 12.9 cm); Wt. 6lb. (2.7216kg)
Classification: Sculpture-Bronze
Credit Line: Gift of Mrs. Howard J. Sachs and Mr. Peter G. Sachs, in memory of Miss Edith L. Sachs, 1978
Object Number: 1978.516.6
Curatorial Department: European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

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