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Toad
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art. Free to download, adapt and use — no permission needed.
About this work
Casting animals from life was a common Renaissance practice, connected to scholars’ interest in natural history and a taste for oddities. Drowning the toad in ammonia left the animal’s body intact. The workshop then manipulated the head, opened the mouth, and cast the creature as a functional object for the study.
Cleveland Museum of Art’s own descriptionCredit lineToad, c. 1500–1550 or later. Italy, possibly Padua, 16th century. Bronze; overall: 8.3 x 13 cm (3 1/4 x 5 1/8 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, The Severance and Greta Millikin Purchase Fund, 1987.5
