Bon Boullogne (Paris, 1649 - Paris, 1717), workshop of
Episodes from the myth of Diana
oil on canvas
84 x 114 cm, with antique frame 100 x 132 cm
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The beautiful painting shows a series of episodes taken from the myth of the goddess Diana, Roman goddess of hunting, forests and wild animals, masterfully reproduced in this valuable painting, which shows a lush forest, the deity's favorite place, as the setting for her adventures.
The composition opens, on the left, with a sort of introduction of the goddess, portrayed as an attractive young maiden, surrounded by her faithful Nymphs, one of whom supports her quiver with arrows, and by one of her beloved hunting dogs. The 'story' continues in the central part where we can see the goddess during a wild boar hunt, again with the goddess preparing to shoot a trace against a wild boar.
The other two scenes concern Diana's love life, in particular with Orion, a valiant hunter with whom the goddess fell in love. The scene could represent a moment of intimacy between the two, interrupted by a curious satyr, surprised and punished by Orion himself with the help of a nymph. To conclude, the author wanted to represent the tragic moment in which the goddess cries over the body of her beloved lying on the ground, mistakenly killed by an arrow shot by Diana herself, the result of a trap set by the jealous brother Apollo, annoyed by the love his sister felt for a mortal. Here we see Diana imploring Aesculapius in vain, a deity capable of resurrecting the dead, to bring young Orion back to life, who will instead be transformed by Zeus into the constellation of the same name.
The painting can be attributed to the workshop of the painter Bon Boullogne (Paris, 1649 - Paris, 1717), an exemplary exponent of French painting of the second half of the 17th century and a member of a dynasty of painters (he was the son of the painter Louis Boullogne, and brother of Louis, Geneviève and Madeleine, all active in their father's workshop) famous for their mythological compositions.
His stay in Rome, from 1670 to 1675, at the French Academy salaried by Louis XIV, served the painter to study the great Italian authors, shaping a style that upon his return to Paris will make him extremely sought after with his painting of great decorum, suitable, then as now, to embellish the high-level bourgeois residences.
In the canvas in question, in fact, we find all the typical components of the whimsical French master, elaborated starting from a large part of the ‘600, especially Roman and Bolognese, painting, looking at the ways of the Carracci and Correggio, with a direct ancestry in particular from Domenichino (remember the Diana hunt in Galleria Borghese), while the chromatic stamp of the entire composition is affected by the clear and luminous tones of Reni, Maratti and Albani. The great tradition of early Roman Baroque painting is relived by Boullogne on a cultural basis that does not even neglect the influence of Nicolas Poussin.
The canvas is in a good state of conservation with the presence of several points of restoration and a layer of superficial oxidation. The published photographs were taken using professional lighting, so it is possible that the painting may appear slightly darker if not adequately illuminated.
The work is accompanied by a beautiful gold frame, antique but not coeval.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
The work is sold with a certificate of authenticity and a descriptive iconographic card.
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