Satyress is the female equivalent to

satyr In Greek mythology, a satyr ( grc-gre, σάτυρος, sátyros, ), also known as a silenus or ''silenos'' ( grc-gre, σειληνός ), is a male nature spirit with ears and a tail resembling those of a horse, as well as a permanent, exa ...

s. They are entirely an invention of post-Roman European artists, as the Greek satyrs were exclusively male and the closest there was to female counterparts were the

nymphs A nymph ( grc, νύμφη, nýmphē, el, script=Latn, nímfi, label=Modern Greek; , ) in ancient Greek folklore is a minor female nature deity. Different from Greek goddesses, nymphs are generally regarded as personifications of nature, are ty ...

, altogether different creatures who, however, were nature spirits or deities like the satyrs. Later on, Romans described their counterpart of the satyr -- the ''

faunus In ancient Roman religion and myth, Faunus was the rustic god of the forest, plains and fields; when he made cattle fertile he was called Inuus. He came to be equated in literature with the Greek god Pan, after which Romans depicted him as a ...

'' -- as having a female counterpart, the ''fauna''. Although effectively the same creature as the then-inexistant satyress, it actually came to be part of the Roman religion. The creation of gender-complementary pairs of deities serving the same function was a typically Roman religious characteristic.

Description

The Satyresses depicted with a human head and torso, generally including bare

breast The breast is one of two prominences located on the upper ventral region of a primate's torso. Both females and males develop breasts from the same embryological tissues. In females, it serves as the mammary gland, which produces and s ...

s, but the body of a goat from the hips down. They were a late invention by poets and artists and are comparatively rare in

Classical art Ancient Greek art stands out among that of other ancient cultures for its development of naturalistic but idealized depictions of the human body, in which largely nude male figures were generally the focus of innovation. The rate of stylistic d ...

. Such a creature may also be known as a fauness, but this nomenclature is rarely seen in English; ' is the spelling in French. Though not often seen compared to the omnipresent depictions of male satyrs and

centaur A centaur ( ; grc, κένταυρος, kéntauros; ), or occasionally hippocentaur, is a creature from Greek mythology with the upper body of a human and the lower body and legs of a horse. Centaurs are thought of in many Greek myths as bein ...

s, the satyress figure was certainly not unknown to Renaissance artists.

Michelangelo Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni (; 6 March 1475 – 18 February 1564), known as Michelangelo (), was an Italian sculptor, painter, architect, and poet of the High Renaissance. Born in the Republic of Florence, his work was in ...

included a haggard satyress nursing drunken toddlers at her elderly breasts in his 1533 work, ''The Children's Bacchanal''.Michelangelo Buonarotti: ''The Children's Bacchanal''
published online by Royal Collection: Royal Palaces, Residences, and Art Collection. United Kingdom. Accessed February 4, 2008. The

Art Institute of Chicago The Art Institute of Chicago in Chicago's Grant Park, founded in 1879, is one of the oldest and largest art museums in the world. Recognized for its curatorial efforts and popularity among visitors, the museum hosts approximately 1.5 mil ...

has an example of an attractive, mature satyress accompanied by

putti A putto (; plural putti ) is a figure in a work of art depicted as a chubby male child, usually naked and sometimes winged. Originally limited to profane passions in symbolism,Dempsey, Charles. ''Inventing the Renaissance Putto''. University o ...

and a male satyr in a 16th-century study by

Paolo Farinati Paolo Farinati (also known as ''Farinato'' or ''Farinato degli Uberti''; c. 1524 – c. 1606) was an Italian painter of the Mannerist style, active in mainly in his native Verona, but also in Mantua and Venice. He may have ancestors among Flore ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

. A third satyr figure is presented in rear three-quarter view and its gender cannot be definitively determined, though the glimpse of the chest suggests small female breasts are present.Paolo Farinati, Italian, 1524-1606
Art Institute of Chicago. Accessed February 4, 2008. The Art Institute also holds a bronze candle stand or oil lamp depicting a mature female satyr seated with her satyr son leaning against her knee while she holds a light aloft. The tentative date on this work is circa 1500, pushing the motif back into the 15th century.(Workshop of) Andrea Riccio, Italian, ''Satyr Mother and Child''
Art Institute of Chicago. Accessed February 4, 2008.

Clodion Claude Michel (20 December 1738 – 29 March 1814), known as Clodion, was a French sculptor in the Rococo style, especially noted for his works in marble, bronze, & terracotta. Life He was born in Nancy to Anne Adam and Thomas Michel, an un ...

used the motif in a work which is now in the

Walters Art Museum The Walters Art Museum, located in Mount Vernon-Belvedere, Baltimore, Maryland, United States, is a public art museum founded and opened in 1934. It holds collections established during the mid-19th century. The museum's collection was amassed ...

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

, Maryland: ''Female Satyr Carrying Two Putti''. This satyress is striding upright, carrying a squirming ''putto'' in each arm.Female Satyr Carrying Two Putti
terra cotta work displayed in Walters Art Museum, Baltimore, Maryland. Accessed February 4, 2008. At least one small terra cotta satyress depicted reclining was created by a student of Clodion in the late 18th or early 19th Century; it resides in a private collection.''Dictionnaire des termes de l'art: anglais/français & français/anglais''
by Claude Ferment. La Maison Du Dictionnaire, (1994). English Giambattista Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, an 18th-century Venetian painter in the rococo style, painted at least two works with a satyress as the main figure: ''Satyress with a Putto'' and ''Satyress With Two Putti and a Tambourine.''Timeline of Artists
Accessed February 4, 2008. Although satyrs are generally shown seducing human women, Tiepolo drew ''Satyr Surprising A Satyress'', which depicts a hirsute satyr grasping a relatively bare-skinned satyress around the waist.Giovanni Domenico Tiepolo, Italian, 1727-1804: ''Satyr Surprising A Satyress''

. Accessed February 4, 2008. The satyress is common in modern fantasy art. They may be portrayed as normal human women with the hind legs of a goat and a tail. In modern fantasy art, they commonly are shown with pointed ears and horns as well.

Aubrey Beardsley Aubrey Vincent Beardsley (21 August 187216 March 1898) was an English illustrator and author. His black ink drawings were influenced by Japanese woodcuts, and depicted the grotesque, the decadent, and the erotic. He was a leading figure in the ...

was known to depict the satyress figure in this style.

References

{{Commonscat, Satyresses Greek legendary creatures Mythological caprids Mythological human hybrids Satyrs Anthropomorphic animals Horned deities Female legendary creatures

Description

See also

References