Head of Silenus (c. 1547–87): Art, History and Details

Head of Silenus (c. 1547–87) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection. The museum's creator attribution is Adamo Scultori (Italian, c. 1530–1585); Giulio Romano (Italian, 1492/99–1546).

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

This engraving by the Mantuan artist Adamo Scultori is based on an untraced design for stuccowork designed by Giulio Romano at the duke of Mantua’s Palazzo del Te. Silenus was the mythological teacher of Bacchus. Known for his great wisdom, which was enhanced by wine, he was often portrayed as the embodiment of overindulgence and revelry. Adamo emphasized these qualities in Silenus’s slightly inebriated expression and extended tongue. The dark contrasts and heavily worked, hatched areas of the engraving create deep shadows that relay the character of relief carving, like stucco.

Object facts

• Title: Head of Silenus
• Date: c. 1547–87
• Creator attribution: Adamo Scultori (Italian, c. 1530–1585); Giulio Romano (Italian, 1492/99–1546)
• Culture: Italy
• Type: Print
• Technique: engraving
• Dimensions: Platemark: 13.5 cm (5 5/16 in.)
• Collection: PR - Engraving
• Department: Prints
• Accession number: 2025.137

A detail from the museum

This engraving’s circular cut plate imitates circular decorative elements featuring grotesque heads, such as those found on doorframes and other architectural borders in Renaissance architecture.

Collection credit

Elizabeth Carroll Shearer Fund

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.