ATTRIBUTED TO SEVERO DA RAVENNA (RAVENNA C. 1496- C. 1543) C. 1510-1530

Severo, son of a Ferrarese sculptor, was probably born in Ravenna, where he is first documented in 1496. By 1500 he had moved to Padua, but he left in 1509, when Maximilian I attacked that city. Returning to Ravenna, Severo apparently settled there, establishing a hugely successful shop that produced a large number of bronze objects for everyday use with subjects taken from antiquity. He was clearly influenced by the spirit of pagan humanism that had been given a new impetus at the University of Padua in the late 15th-century. Fantastical sea creatures derived from classical antiquity became a favored motif of sculptors and painters active in Padua. Andrea Mantegna used the theme frequently in his drawings and engravings, such as in the Battle of the Sea Gods (c. 1475-1488), an impression of which is in the Victoria & Albert Museum, London (DYCE 993). In the present work, a mermaid stands on a claw foot, with arms outstretched to hold candle nozzles (now missing).

Praised by Pomponius Gauricus, a writer who knew him, as a sculptor excellent in all media and as a painter, Severo was highly regarded in his lifetime but has long been neglected. A notable difference in quality distinguishes Severo's best works from the perfunctory later efforts of his shop, which continued to thrive after his death. The present bronze is evidently superior to many other known versions of the current model in the refinement of the details, including a version in the National Gallery of Art, Washington (inv. 2001.85.1).