Orpheus

A white marble statue shows a nude young man with a laurel wreath playing a violin, his head tilted upward and his body turned in a relaxed contrapposto stance. He stands beside a carved tree stump on a round base, set against a plain gray backdrop. The polished surface catches soft light across the muscular limbs and the instrument.

Look closer: The carved tree stump the figure leans against has bark texture and a small branch stub near the base.

Artist

Cristoforo Stati (Cristofano da Bracciano)

Date

1600–1601

Medium

Marble

Source

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Size

2739 × 3876 px

Credit (appreciated, not required for public-domain works): The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gift of George Blumenthal, 1941