Who Was the Man Behind the Satyrs Mask?
Netherlandish in origin and probably made in the late 16th or early 17th century, at a time when Northern Mannerist bronze casting was at its height, this 36″ high figure of a man wearing a satyr’s mask has been the object of considerable scholarly attention since its quite recent discovery. On December 2, 2008, at Sotheby’s it passed a commercial test with flying colours in selling for $1,718,650. Showing similarities with the work of Adrien de Vries (1545-1626) and Hubert Gerhard (circa 1540-1621), and even more so with that of Willem van Tetrode (circa 1525-1580), this powerful figure, its foot resting on a vat of grapes, has obvious Bacchic or Dionysian connections. This, however, is not a straightforward figure of the God of Wine, nor of one of his followers, such as Silenus, or the hybrid satyrs and fauns that were so popular with Italian sculptors. The grimacing mask worn by this figure has the flat nose that is associated with depictions of those devoted to the pleasures of win