Pietro Liberi (Padua 1605 - Venice 1687) follower of
Faun, Nymph and two putti
Oil on canvas (62 x 82 cm. - In frame 85 x 104 cm.)
Full details of the work (click HERE)
The subject of the painting, drawn from Greek mythology, shows a faun, a mythological figure half man and half goat originating from Arcadia, in a moment of family intimacy with a nymph and two putti.
Although there are no specific references, it could be the family of the God Pan, lying in the foreground on the left intently playing his traditional flute made of bamboo reeds, with his wife the nymph Echo and their two young children, Iunge and Iambe, one of whom is holding a wineskin or a vase, perhaps of wine, from which the other is drinking.
The scene is characterized by a bucolic atmosphere, typical of mythological representations of the time, expressing a climate of festive cheerfulness and a hymn to lightheartedness. It represents an idealized vision of natural and primitive life, far from the ideals of dissolute life often associated with the figures of satyrs and fauns, embodying here a domestic and protective dimension, elevating the mythological creature to a symbol of natural virtue and family stability.
The work was probably intended for humanist circles, where the theme of "life according to nature" was the subject of philosophical debate, contrasting the purity of natural instincts with the corruption of social conventions.
The analysis of the painting allows us to place its execution in the Northern Italian school, carried out by an artist from the Venetian area active between the 17th and 18th centuries, and in particular an heir to the school of Pietro Liberi (Padua 1605-Venice 1687), who was always interested in themes related to myth.
Among the greatest exponents of Baroque art in Italy, a skilled painter who was a disciple of Padovanino as well as the father of another important painter and epigone, Marco Liberi.
Liberi created important fresco cycles but also altarpieces and numerous profane easel paintings; the latter are particularly similar to the one in question and highly sought after and appreciated by contemporary collectors for their elegantly sensual and erotic themes.
His formal elegance and pictorial softness are enhanced in mythological scenes like ours, characterized by sensual and classical nudes.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
The work is sold complete with a pleasant gilded frame and is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity and guarantee.
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