Venetian school; circa 1730. "Mythological scene". Oil on canvas. Has visible damage to the canvas.

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OLD MASTERS - Day 1

By Setdart Auction House

May 31, 2021

Set Reminder 2021-05-31 08:30:00 2021-05-31 08:30:00 America/New_York Bidsquare Bidsquare : OLD MASTERS - Day 1 https://www.bidsquare.com/auctions/setdart-auction-house/old-masters---day-1-6998
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• Lot Description
  Venetian school; circa 1730. "Mythological scene". Oil on canvas. Has visible damage to the canvas. Measures: 98 x 122 cm; 115 x 140 cm (frame). In this work, the author presents a scene with a markedly theatrical character. This is deduced from the attitudes adopted by the characters, whose poses are stereotyped, representing archetypes that coincide with mythological characters. The work, which develops in a profuse landscape that opens in the left zone to a clear sky, gathers a scene of great intensity. A richly dressed woman tries to murder a man who is lying asleep. While in the right zone of the canvas we can appreciate two naked characters bathing in a lake, while observing the scene. It is important to highlight the appreciation of these characters within the composition, because they may represent the protagonists of the scene, at a time of the previous story, thus creating a narrative pictorial composition, which was a common resource used both in paintings of mythological themes, such as historical. This work reflects the aesthetics of the classicist landscape tradition of the Italian Baroque, initiated by Annibale Carracci and characterized by a rational idealization of nature, always based on the canons of classicism, which dictate orderly, harmonious and clear compositions that combine the naturalism of the representation with the rigorous compositional structure. Thus, we see a clear landscape, open in depth, a way of composing the landscape already initiated by Carracci. However, in this work the author demonstrates a composition that differs from the aforementioned classicism, since the author introduces a vaporous atmosphere close to those developed by the Venetian school. Finally, the figures are also heirs of the classic Italian Baroque landscape, small and integrated into the landscape, without detracting from the representation of nature. Formally, it is part of academicism, and therefore follows classical rules, the first of which is the high technical quality. Thus, the drawing is rigorous and firm, although a taste for the sumptuous, typical of the Venetian school, can be appreciated in the conception. The academicism is a direct inheritance of classicism, and hence the predilection for themes such as the one presented here, taken from mythology, although captured from a sensual and decorative point of view far from the solemnity of ancient classical art. Hence also the way of approaching the subject, recreating the mythological figures in a totally new way. Nevertheless, we can appreciate an ideal of beauty that is not based on reality, although the painter's study of nature is undeniable, but rather an idealism based on reality through his sum of experience, that is to say, an aesthetic sublimation that reflects a beauty that transcends reality.
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