FLEMISH SCHOOL, PROBABLY 17th CENTURY AFTER A MODEL BY BARTHOLOMEUS SPRANGER (1546-1611) The Oreads removing a thorn from the foot of a satyr Carved wood group (Damage and restoration) A WOODEN SCULPTURE, FLEMISH SCHOOL, PROBABLY 17TH CENTURY AFTER A MODEL BY BARTHOLOMEUS SPRANGER (1546-1611) 33 x 35 x 17,50 CM - 13 x 13,8 x 6,9 IN. Reference work Jan Muller (1571-1628) after Bartholomeus Spranger (1546-1611), Les Oréades retirant une épine du pied d'un satyre, engraving, 1590, dim. 25 × 19.3 CM, New York, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, n°inv. 49.95.1829. This small group in fruitwood is based on a variation on the classic theme of the shepherd wounded by a thorn, invented by the famous Flemish artist active at the Prague court of Emperor Rudolf II, Bartholomeus Spranger (1546-1611). The Antwerp-born painter, draughtsman and engraver spent more than ten years in Italy, where he immersed himself in ancient culture and Mannerist art, before moving to the Viennese court of Emperor Maximilian II on the recommendation of the Florentine sculptor Giambologna. When the emperor died in 1576, he moved to Prague to the court of the new emperor, Rudolf II. An engraving by Jan Muller (1571 -1628) dating from 1590 shows the artist's model, who replaced the shepherd with a faun accompanied by three other mythological creatures, a young satyr supporting his injured leg and two female figures known as oraeads. Commentators have mistaken them for female satyrs, but classical sources suggest that they are actually mountain nymphs, devotees of Artemis, the Greek goddess of the hunt. The sculptor, who placed the faun on a rock and a naturalistic terrace, took a few liberties with the engraving: the woman removing the thorn does not wear a magnifying glass, and the young satyr looking in the direction of the observer hastened to bring a skin, no doubt to modestly conceal the faun's intimacy.