Michelangelo Making the Snow Image for Piero de’ Medici
Date1900
Artist
Herman Methfessel
(American illustrator, 1873–1912)
Formerly attributed to
Howard Pyle
(American illustrator, 1853–1911)
Illustration Citation“A Famous Snow Image” by Julia Darrow Cowles, in St. Nicholas, March 1900, pg. 393
MediumOil on canvas
Dimensions24 × 17 1/4 in. (61 × 43.8 cm)
frame: 29 3/16 × 22 5/16 (74.1 × 56.7 cm)
frame: 29 3/16 × 22 5/16 (74.1 × 56.7 cm)
Credit LineGift of Emily Todd and David Todd on behalf of the Lucie Wray Todd Dynasty Trust, 2021
Object number2021-38
On View
On viewClassificationsPAINTING
Label TextThis illustration comes from a fictional story in which a grandfather regales his grandchildren with the tale of a famous snowman on a snowy winter day. He tells them that Piero de’ Medici sent for a young Michelangelo to create a snowman in his image on a rare snowy day in Florence. This story traces back to Giorgio Vasari's 16th-century biography of Michelangelo. Although Vasari doesn't specify the subject of the snow sculpture, he sets the story in the courtyard of the Medici palace during January 1494, when Michelangelo was 20 years old. The charming story is typical of what appeared in St. Nicholas—Scribner’s magazine for children—around the turn of the century. St. Nicholas frequently published fiction and non-fiction about the youth of famous men.For most of its existence, this painting was signed "Pyle" in the lower right corner. The Pyle signature was painted on top of Methfessel's within five year's of Pyle's death, and it was sold to a private collector as a Pyle in 1916. The forgery was recognized before it entered the Museum's collection. A professional conservator was able to painstakingly remove the forged signature and other overpaint, revealing the original illustration.
