Semiramis and Babylon Giovanni Romanelli 17th century SOLD

Sold Oil painting on canvas measuring 100 x 150 cm without frame and 120 x 170 cm with a contemporary frame, depicting Semiramis receiving news of the revolt of Babylon by the painter Giovanni Francesco Romanelli (Viterbo 1610 - 1662). Semiramis is a legendary Assyrian-Babylonian queen, wife of the equally legendary King Ninus, eponymous founder of Nineveh. She appears in the narratives of various Greek authors as the wife of the legendary King Ninus, who is said to have fallen in love with her when she was still the wife of General Onnes; the king is said to have asked the general to leave her and Onnes committed suicide. Later, Semiramis succeeded Ninus, who died in battle, assuming the regency for her son Nynias. For medieval Christian writers, Semiramis became a symbol of pagan absolutism, cruel and licentious to the point of incest. Both Justin and Dante Alighieri, who placed her among the people who sinned by lust in the second circle of Hell (Inferno, V, 52-60), spoke of her. In this circle, Dante says that Semiramis was so lustful that, to make her behavior appear "normal" in the eyes of the population, she promoted a law through which all subjects had to be just as lustful (from Dante's verses that made lust licit in her law). In fact, she was deeply ashamed of having fallen in love with her son, whom she nevertheless forced into an incestuous relationship (from the verses to dispel the blame she was in). This grandiose scene of history and mythology, due to its dimensions and pictorial quality, is to be counted among the masterpieces of the artist and presents the peculiar stylistic characteristics of the Baroque age, including the dynamic development of the narrative and the bloody realism. The scenography with the backdrop of characters, including Semiramis in the foreground, is peculiar to the Viterbo master, as is the jagged line of the horizon and the wide sky furrowed by clouds. This painting, created with considerable expressive force, recalls the excitement of the fray of his best works created for the Barberini family; furthermore, here we can see how a greater coloristic vivacity emerges in a peremptory way, making the painting even more pleasant and beautiful. The paintings and art objects published here are my exclusive property and consequently are always available to be viewed in person, by appointment, at my exhibition venues located in Sanremo and Brescia. The work, like every object of ours, is sold accompanied by a FIMA photographic certificate of authenticity and lawful provenance; this document identifies the object, adding an added value to the item. We personally take care of and organize the packaging and shipping of works of art with insurance all over the world. Dr. Riccardo Moneghini Art historian