Francesco Albani (Bologna 1578 - 1660), Copy of
The Dance of the Putti
Oil on panel
94 x 118 cm.
in a valuable gilded and carved wooden frame 101 x 123
Full details of the artwork (click HERE)
A festive dance of putti arranged in a circle around a tree is depicted, on which other putti play musical instruments, while in the foreground there are other objects, including bows and quivers, placed on the grass. In the background on the left, the scene of a woman being abducted and dragged on a chariot can be seen: it is precisely the abduction of Proserpina by Pluto who, madly in love, took her with him to the underworld to make her his bride. On the right, however, among the clouds, Venus with a torch kisses Cupid, while below is the temple of Vesta, still existing today in Rome, where the sacred fire was once kept.
The painting is an interesting ancient replica of the masterpiece created by Francesco Albani, titled "Dance of the Putti" and dated around 1660, currently housed at the Pinacoteca di Brera in Milan (see image in the photographic details).
Known for his depictions of mythological and allegorical subjects with a light and decorative tone, Francesco Albani is considered, along with Domenichino and Guido Reni, among the greatest exponents of Bolognese classicism and therefore highly sought after by the cultured patronage of the time.
Thanks to a style characterized by compositions of an idyllic nature and therefore pleasing to the more intimate taste of the patrons, works like these have always enjoyed extraordinary critical and public success, to the point of being replicated several times.
The subject depicted was also highly requested in later periods for its symbolic meaning of the triumph of Love: the painting is indeed an interesting allegory of marital union and must therefore have been commissioned, within the Farnese family, on the occasion of a wedding or a betrothal.
This would be referred to by the putti who, having put down the bows with which they make lovers fall in love, play happily because they have completed the mission assigned to them by Cupid: Pluto has fallen in love with Proserpina and abducts her as a sign of irrepressible love. Venus, finally, rewards Cupid with a grateful kiss, while the temple of Vesta, where the hearth is always lit, wishes for the durability of love.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
The work is sold with a certificate of authenticity and a descriptive iconographic sheet.
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