"Allegory of Love"
17th-century Genoese School
Circle of Domenico Piola (Genoa 1627-1703)
Oil on canvas
Canvas size 75 x 60 frame 90 x 75
Excellent condition
This delightful love scene depicts the courtship of a cherub towards his mischievous and complacent companion.
The male cherub turns his gaze towards her and offers her a floral tribute with his right hand raised.
She, already surrounded by a rich garland of flowers on her hips and a crown on her head, looks at him with an innocent and intriguing air.
The painting is particularly attractive and offers a pleasant sight to the viewer, inevitably involved in the message of love transmitted by the two innocent creatures.
The splendid colors of the tunics, his in bright blue and hers in soft pink, contrast with the naked bodies created with an extraordinary volumetric effect thanks to a perfect application of the nuances.
The Genoese school of the 17th century, which saw Piola as a prominent exponent, was considered unsurpassed in the depictions of cherubs, little angels, and cherubim. The churches and palaces of the Ligurian territory abound in canvases and frescoes with these subjects.
The work, in fact, is certainly an excellent interpretation of the Genoese Baroque, which rarely deviates from religious subjects to offer us these tasty scenes with frivolous and veiled libertine contours.
