Pietro Dandini, also known as "Pier Dandini"
(Florence 1646 - 1712)
BACCHANAL
Oil on canvas
114.5 x 139.5 cm
The multi-figure composition was made in a large format and the people arranged in individual groups. A pair of protagonists are sitting on a rock at the top left, while the man dressed in red adorned with ivy leaves is offered wine while being caressed by a young woman. A second dominant group, in the lower right, consists of another couple, poorly dressed, in front of a large copper vase, with fruit lying on the ground in front. On the right is the corpulent Bacchus, naked, riding a donkey towards the center of the painting, accompanied by two maenads who offer him a glass and a jug while he embraces one of the girls. On the left is a satyr with a Pan flute. In the lower right corner there is another couple: the young girl is lying lasciviously on a cloth with her breasts exposed, raising a cup of wine to a bacchante, who fills it with a jug. Among the figures are numerous putti and satyrs with goat feet, while in the background a hilly landscape is painted under floating clouds.
The artist comes from a very large family of painters. His painting style, like that of his workshop, is influenced by numerous trips to Bologna, Venice, Modena and Rome. Supported by the Medici family, including Prince Ferdinand and the Grand Duke, Pier Dandini received numerous commissions, including for churches such as San Jacopo Soprarno or San Frediano. He also created the lunettes for the San Giovannino degli Scolopi. He also painted the painting of San Francesco in the Roman church of Santa Maria Maggiore, to name just a few examples.
