Head of Silenus

From the Cleveland Museum of Art record

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. 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.