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Leonard C. Hanna Jr. Fund · The Cleveland Museum of Art
Image: public domain (CC0) · Museum record & image source ↗

Italy · c. 1572

Fata Morgana

Creator not recorded by the museum

Date
c. 1572
Medium
Marble
Dimensions
Overall: 99 x 68 cm (39 x 26 3/4 in.)
Country / context
Italy
Movement / tradition
European and American art
Collection
The Cleveland Museum of Art
Pathway
European and American art ↗
FROM THE MUSEUM

Commissioned by prominent banker Bernardo Vecchietti, whose surname means “old,” Fata Morgana took the name both of the nearby spring that fed the fountain she surmounted, and the legendary fairy who restored King Arthur’s youth. The Fata Morgana is one of only around a dozen sculptures in marble by Giambologna. The artist’s favorite subject was the female nude because of its capacity to showcase his extraordinary ability to model softness in hard stone and to convey dynamic movement. Her twisting pose invites the viewer to appreciate the Fata Morgana from every angle.

Collection text · The Cleveland Museum of Art · CC0
A MOMENT TO LOOK

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