Early modern · Cleveland Museum of Art · 1942.51
Sleeping Endymion
Agostino Cornacchini, 1716
Cleveland Museum of Art · Gift of Grace Rainey Rogers in memory of her father, William J. Rainey · Public domain
- Artist
- Agostino Cornacchini
- Date
- 1716
- Medium
- marble
- Dimensions
- Overall: 64.8 x 53.4 x 45.8 cm (25 1/2 x 21 x 18 1/16 in.)
- Era
- Early modern
Why it matters
Cornacchini moved away from the dramatic movement and light effects characteristic of baroque sculpture toward a calmer, gentler, more graceful style favored by 18th-century taste. This sculpture depicts Endymion, a beautiful young shepherd from Greek mythology. His beauty so entranced Selene, the personification of the moon, that she asked Zeus to grant Endymion immortality. Zeus did so, but only after placing Endymion in an eternal sleep.