Neptune
ca. 1580
Medium
Copper alloy with light brown patina under a verdigris patina.
Dimensions
H. 28.3 cm.
Classification
Metalwork-Bronze
Department
Robert Lehman Collection
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Robert Lehman Collection, 1975
Accession Number
1975.1.1401
Tags
Art Historical Context
Behold the commanding figure of *Neptune*, a masterful bronze sculpture by Pietro da Barga, around 1580. Standing at 28.3 cm high, this copper alloy work captures the Roman god of the sea in a dynamic male nude, embodying the Renaissance fascination with classical mythology and human anatomy. Housed in the Robert Lehman Collection at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, exemplifies the exquisite metalwork produced in late 16th-century ItalyPietro da Barga, a Tuscan sculptor from town of Barga, specialized in small-scale bronzes that appealed to elite collectors. This piece showcases lost-wax castin...
About the Artist
Pietro da Barga · 1574–1588
**Pietro da Barga: The Medici's Bronze Master of Classical Reductions** Pietro Simoni da Barga, an Italian sculptor active in Florence from 1574 to 1588, emerged from the Tuscan town of Barga to become a favored artisan of Cardinal Ferdinando de' Medici, who later ascended as Grand Duke Ferdinando I of Tuscany. Employed specifically to craft small-scale bronze copies of renowned ancient sculpture...