Skip to Content
Closed now, next open Thursday. Closed now, next open Thursday.

Phalaris and the Bull of Perillus

A work made of terracotta with traces of polychromy.
CC0 Public Domain Designation

Image actions

  • A work made of terracotta with traces of polychromy.

Date:

1590/1600

Artist:

Giovanni Caccini (Attributed to)
Italian, 1556-1612

About this artwork

This classical subject tells the cautionary tale of the sculptor Perillus, who offered to make a bronze bull in which the tyrant Phalaris could roast his enemies. Perillus was rewarded by being the contraption’s first victim. In the Renaissance, this story was interpreted as a moral fable of ow bad advice rebounds on the giver, and it is here presented against the backdrop of a large Renaissance piazza. The relief is attributed to Giovanni Caccini on the basis of its stylistic relationship to his best-known work, the bronze panes of the doors of Pisa Cathedral (1604).

Status

On View, Gallery 206

Department

Painting and Sculpture of Europe

Artist

Giovanni Battista Caccini

Title

Phalaris and the Bull of Perillus

Place

Italy (Object made in)

Date  Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

1590–1600

Medium

Terracotta with traces of polychromy

Dimensions

68.6 × 87.6 cm (27 × 34 1/2 in.)

Credit Line

Kate S. Buckingham Endowment

Reference Number

1968.316

IIIF Manifest  The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world.

Learn more.

https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/29431/manifest.json

Extended information about this artwork

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

Share

Sign up for our enewsletter to receive updates.

Learn more

Image actions

Share