The River God Tiber (Study for a fresco, Miracle of the Snow, or the Foundation of Santa Maria Maggiore, Rome in the Canigiani chapel of S. Felicita, Florence) (1589): Art, History and Details

The River God Tiber (Study for a fresco, Miracle of the Snow, or the Foundation of Santa Maria Maggiore, Rome in the Canigiani chapel of S. Felicita, Florence) (1589) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection. The museum's creator attribution is Bernardino Poccetti (Italian, 1548–1612).

The work and its context

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

Since ancient times, artists have depicted river gods as reclining bearded men, often holding or leaning on a large urn pouring water. This example, a preparatory sketch for a painting, personifies the Tiber River, which plays a role in Rome’s legendary origins. Romulus, the founder of Rome, and his twin brother, Remus, were abandoned as infants at the river, where they were rescued by a she-wolf. Poccetti lightly sketched the animal’s head behind the river god along with the face of Romulus or Remus.

Object facts

• Title: The River God Tiber (Study for a fresco, Miracle of the Snow, or the Foundation of Santa Maria Maggiore, Rome in the Canigiani chapel of S. Felicita, Florence)
• Date: 1589
• Creator attribution: Bernardino Poccetti (Italian, 1548–1612)
• Culture: Italy
• Type: Drawing
• Technique: black chalk on antique laid paper
• Dimensions: Sheet: 23.6 x 30.9 cm (9 5/16 x 12 3/16 in.)
• Collection: DR - Italian
• Department: Drawings
• Accession number: 2012.36

Collection credit

Severance and Greta Millikin Purchase 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.