The subject of this group is one of the most disturbing in classical mythology. When the god Apollo beat the satyr Marsyas in a musical contest, Apollo chose to skin Marsyas alive as a penalty for losing. This group and its companion, Zephyr and Flora (Museum no. A.5-1967), belonged to a series of garden sculptures supplied by Corradini to Augustus the Strong, King of Poland and Elector of Saxony for his gardens in Dresden. Another group by Corradini fro the series, 'Truth and Sculpture', is now in the Château de Ferrières en Brie (near Paris).
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Corradini was a virtuoso sculptor of marble, and although he was mainly active in the Veneto, also worked in Vienna and Rome. He was particularly renowned for his statues of veiled or partially veiled figures, such as his Modesty of about 1750. This figure and Zephyr and Flora exemplify his elegant style, rooted in a classical language, but also incorporating a rococo lightness and movement. Such a style was well suited to garden sculpture in the 18th century.
