Felice Giani is considered one of the greatest exponents of Neoclassicism.
Oil painting on panel. Measurements cm h. 17x19.5.
In this small sketch, Giani shows us, with his usual freshness and immediacy of sign, one of the typical subjects of his work.
The perspective and luminosity of the chiaroscuro are exceptional.
Achilles is represented naked, wearing only the crest, seated, holding the shield with his left hand and leaning on the spear with his right hand. At his feet is the armor, forged for him by Hephaestus. The hero turns his face to his left towards Fame intending to blow the trumpet. In the background, the walls of Troy.
The iconography fully follows the Homeric description. The three weapons: the shield, already described in detail in the Iliad, receives an extensive ekphrasis in Book V, then taken up again in Book VII; the helmet, which bears a representation of Zeus, who hurls lightning against the Titans, is an image with high symbolic value, given that Zeus can be considered in the work as the guarantor of the order willed by Fate; the spear, with which Achilles had pierced Telephus and Hector and which Patroclus, unlike Neoptolemus, had been unable to raise.
Once again, the great artist demonstrates his in-depth knowledge of classical texts.
Perfect condition.
