The Rape of the Sabine Women by Vincent Malò (circa 1595/1600-1649), attributed

The Rape of the Sabine Women Vincent Malò (Cambrai, circa 1595/1600 – Rome, 1649) attributable (LINK details) Oil on canvas (110 x 193 cm – In frame 122 x 206 cm.) The Rape of the Sabine Women is one of the most famous episodes in the legendary foundation of Rome by Romulus (8th century BC), the first king of the city, who managed to guarantee the survival of his people through the audacious abduction of Sabine women. Shortly after Rome was founded, Romulus realized that the city was populated almost exclusively by men (mostly adventurers or shepherds) and without women, the new community would have no descendants, disappearing within a generation. He decided to resort to deception and force to solve this problem: he organized great games in honor of the god Consus (the Consualia) and invited the neighboring peoples, particularly the Sabines, who flocked in large numbers with their wives and children. While the guests were distracted by the shows, the armed young Romans – at a signal agreed by Romulus – burst in and abducted the maidens, forcefully driving away their fathers and brothers. Our composition represents this dramatic moment, the Rape (or abduction) of the Sabine Women, reflecting all the tension of the episode, with Roman soldiers intent on subjugating women who, desperate, try to escape with all their might. At the center of this contortion of bodies, the figure of Romulus on horseback emerges, wearing his mythical red cloak, intent on grabbing a woman: this is the noble Hersilia, who will become his wife, chosen for her nobility and wisdom, and from whose union Prima and Avilius will be born. The painting, personalized by our author, is inspired in some details by Peter Paul Rubens's Rape of the Sabine Women, now in the Belfius collection (Brussels), commissioned by Philip IV of Spain in 1639 and completed by the Brussels painter Gaspar de Crayer (https://rkd.nl/images/278260). The work presented here, in particular, refers to a clear Flemish matrix and is attributable to the hand of Vincent Malò (Cambrai, circa 1595/1600 – Rome, 1649), a disciple of Rubens in Antwerp, who therefore must have known the painting by the Flemish master. In the canvas in question, which demonstrates his ability to compose large figurative groups, as well as his skill in representing architectural settings, we can stylistically grasp the debt that Malò owed to his teacher. We find some of Malò's characteristic pictorial styles, particularly in the facial features, such as the typical elongated nose, in the color choices, in the landscape setting, which are found in numerous of his works, and a predilection for redundant and scenographic solutions. Brown and earthy tones contrasting with the fair and diaphanous complexions of the figures, and again the sensitive atmospheric rendering of the landscape, with skies made of mixtures of gray and blue, interrupted by city architectures against which the figures stand out. For comparative purposes, we can mention four works by Malò: The Massacre of the Innocents, Palazzo Bianco Gallery, Genoa, https://rkd.nl/images/22430 The Rape of the Sabine Women, Sotheby's New York, May 22, 2019, lot 53 (https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/auction/2019/master-paintings/vincent-malo-abduction-of-the-sabine-w...) The Massacre of the Innocents, Princeton University Art Museum, New Jersey, https://rkd.nl/images/311613 The meeting between Abraham and Melchizedek, Neumeister Munich, July 5, 2000, lot 480 https://rkd.nl/images/12754 Malò established himself as a successful painter in Italy, where he arrived presumably around 1634, working mainly in Genoa, but we know that in the last phase of his life he moved to Rome: the setting of the scene makes it plausible that our work may have been commissioned precisely during this period. Indeed, we see a beautiful view of Rome with St. Peter's Basilica in the background: this scenario in which the scene is set is a very interesting added value for our beautiful painting. Unlike classical versions of this subject set in ancient Rome (the famous one by Pietro da Cortona in the Capitoline Museums), in our case this interesting anachronism is immediately striking: although it is an event from the origins of Rome, therefore placed in the 8th century BC, it is transposed by the author into a Baroque Rome where the dome or structure of the Vatican Basilica stands out. Added to this is the fact that the author also depicted the women in 17th-century clothing, making the mythical episode closer to his time. This iconographic choice reflects the taste of the period for architectural "capriccios" or for the celebration of the continuity between ancient Rome and the papal Rome of the 17th century. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: The painting is sold complete with a pleasant wooden frame and is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity and a descriptive iconographic sheet. 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