Satyr Mother with a Satyr Child

Riccio's influence spread in many directions, as had Pollaiuolo's—not only to other Italian centers, but also across the Alps. His satyr subjects won lasting popularity, as the Satyr Mother with a Child Satyr testifies. Once attributed to Riccio himself, it is now believed to resemble more closely the work of such Nuremberg sculptors as Wenzel Jamnitzer (1508–85).

The figure types and faces clearly reveal the artist's knowledge of Riccio's bronzes, but the many naturalistic touches seem more characteristic of German taste. One thinks of drawings by Dürer, Hans Hoffman, and others, that describe quite ordinary animals, insects, birds, reptiles, or plants in vibrant detail. The sculptor of the satyr pair reveled in naturalistic embellishments. A lizard descends the gnarled tree stump, over which a quiver is slung. Slithering among the long grasses curling over the rocky base are another lizard and two snakes, proper denizens of a satyr's habitat. The goat has a wild animal's wary look, as though poised to flee from intruders.

The tangled grouping of the two figures, with their goat and ewer, is further encumbered by the large shell from which the thirsty young satyr is preparing to drink. It has been suggested that the bronze was intended as a table ornament, and the shell designed to hold salt. If so, the scowling expression on the young satyr's face betrays his disappointment, and the bronze would be meant to entertain dinner guests with a sly joke.

Source: Art in The Frick Collection: Paintings, Sculpture, Decorative Arts, New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1996.