Circle of François Boucher (29 September 1703 – 30 May 1770)
THE EDUCATION OF CUPID
OIL ON CANVAS
73 x 91,5 cm ; 28 3/4 by 36 in
Private collection
François Boucher (29 September 1703 – 30 May 1770) was a French painter, draughtsman and etcher, who worked in the Rococo style. Boucher is known for his idyllic and voluptuous paintings on classical themes, decorative allegories, and pastoral scenes. He was perhaps the most celebrated painter and decorative artist of the 18th century. He also painted several portraits of his patroness, Madame de Pompadour. More on François Boucher
Cupid is the god of desire, erotic love, attraction and affection. He is often portrayed as the son of the love goddess Venus and the war god Mars, and is known in Latin also as Amor (. His Greek counterpart is Eros.
Although Eros is in Classical Greek art as a slender winged youth, during the Hellenistic period, he was increasingly portrayed as a chubby boy. During this time, his iconography acquired the bow and arrow that represent his source of power: a person, or even a deity, who is shot by Cupid's arrow is filled with uncontrollable desire.He is a main character only in the tale of Cupid and Psyche, when wounded by his own weapons he experiences the ordeal of love.
Cupid continued to be a popular figure in the Middle Ages, when under Christian influence he often had a dual nature as Heavenly and Earthly love. In the Renaissance, a renewed interest in classical philosophy endowed him with complex allegorical meanings. In contemporary popular culture, Cupid is shown drawing his bow to inspire romantic love, often as an icon of Valentine's Day. More on Cupid
Joachim Wtewael (1566–1638)
Mars and Venus Surprised by the Gods, circa 1606 and circa 1610
Oil on copper
Height: 203 mm (7.99 in). Width: 155 mm (6.1 in).
Getty Center
In the Metamorphoses, the Roman author Ovid tells the story of Vulcan discovering the adultery of his wife Venus and her lover Mars. Vulcan fashioned a fine iron net to catch the pair in bed and publicly expose them to the other gods. Here Vulcan stands in the right foreground clutching the net that trapped the lovers, while other deities look on, amused by the couple’s embarrassment. A rich assortment of detail brings to life this story of love and betrayal. More on the Metamorphoses
Joachim Anthoniszoon Wtewael (1566 – 1
August 1638) was a Dutch
Mannerist painter and draughtsman, as well as a highly successful flax
merchant, and town councillor of Utrecht. Wtewael was one of the leading Dutch
exponents of Northern Mannerism, and his distinctive and attractive style
remained largely untouched by the naturalistic developments happening around
him. Wtewael was trained in the style of late 16th-century Haarlem Mannerism
and remained essentially faithful to it, despite painting well into the early
period of Dutch Golden Age.
He painted
a mixture of large paintings on canvas, and tiny cabinet paintings on copper
plates, the latter the more numerous and typically the most distinctive. There
is also a group of mid-sized paintings, often on panel. In all these sizes he
painted a mixture of conventional religious subjects and mythological ones, the
latter with a strong erotic element. The Adoration of the Shepherds, Venus and
Mars Surprised by Vulcan, and the Feast of the Gods as the wedding feasts of
Cupid and Psyche, Peleus and Thetis, the latter often combined with the
Judgement of Paris (below), and Lot and His Daughters, are some examples of these
favourite subjects.
Emperor Rudolf II obtained his The Golden Age
(now Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York). He had several children, and seems
to have stopped painting for almost the last decade of his life, perhaps
influenced by the illness and death of his wife. Like his brother he was a city
councillor; as a member of the main Dutch Reformed Church he was involved in
the struggles with the Remonstrants. His best known work, and almost his
largest, is the near life-size Perseus and Andromeda in the Louvre. More on Joachim Anthoniszoon Wtewael
Antonio Molinari, VENICE 1655 - 1704
ABDUCTION HÉLÈNE
Oil on canvas
139 x 149 cm; 54 3/4 by 58 5/8 in
Northampton Museum and Art Gallery
The composition, with half-length figures depicted in extreme movement, is of a type perfected by the artist Molinari. Although he trained in Venice, Molinari was much influenced by the mood of contemporary Neapolitan painting. More on this painting
Antonio Molinari, also known as il Caraccino, (21 January 1655 – 3 February 1704) The son of a painter, Molinari was apprenticed to Antonio Zanchi in Venice. He was strongly influenced by the vigorous and athletic paintings of Neapolitan painters such as Luca Giordano. He typically painted tumultuous narratives of mythology and religion in large canvases. This would influence his pupil (1697–1703), Giovanni Battista Piazzetta, and his grand manner style. More on Antonio Molinari
Daniel Vertangen (1601-1683)
Paris and the three Graces
Oil on oak panel
45×60 cm
Private collection
THE JUDGEMENT OF PARIS was a contest between the three most beautiful goddesses of Olympos--Aphrodite, Hera and Athena--for the prize of a golden apple addressed "To the Fairest."
The story began with the wedding of Peleus and Thetis which all the gods had been invited to attend except for Eris, goddess of discord. When Eris appeared at the festivities she was turned away and in her anger cast the golden apple amongst the assembled goddesses addressed "To the Fairest." Three goddesses laid claim to the apple--Aphrodite, Hera and Athena. Zeus was asked to mediate and he commanded Hermes to lead the three goddesses to Paris of Troy to decide the issue. The three goddesses appearing before the shepherd prince, each offering him gifts for favour. He chose Aphrodite, swayed by her promise to bestow upon him Helene, the most beautiful woman, for wife. The subsequent abduction of Helene led directly to the Trojan War and the fall of the city. More on Paris and the three Graces
Daniel Vertangen (1601, Amsterdam – ca.1683, Amsterdam), was a Dutch Golden Age painter. According to Houbraken he was a pupil of Cornelis van Poelenburch. He lived most of his life in Amsterdam and is known for landscapes and historical allegories. Though he is often listed as a pupil of Van Poelenburch, there is no documentation about this apprenticeship, but it could have been either before 1617 or as Poelenburch's workshop partner after 1626. More on Daniel Vertangen
Joachim Wtewael (1566–1638)
The Judgement of Paris
National Gallery
Joachim Wtewael (1566–1638), see above
The Judgement of Paris, see above
Charles-André dit Carle van Loo, NICE 1705 - 1765 PARIS
BACCHUS AND ARIADNE
OIL ON CANVAS
109 x 140 cm ; 43 by 55 in
Private collection
Ariadne has been left on the island of Naxos, deserted by her lover Theseus. She is discovered on the shore by the god Bacchus. In the sky above the figure of Ariadne is the star constellation Corona Borealis (Northern crown). There are two possible variations of the story both going back to Ovid. In his Metamorphoses, Ovid has Bacchus throw the crown of Ariadne into the sky where it becomes the constellation Northern Crown. In Ars Amatoria, Bacchus promises the entire sky to Ariadne where she then would become the constellation Northern Crown. Falling in love with Ariadne on first sight. The picture shows her initial fear of Bacchus, but he raised her to heaven and turned her into a constellation, represented by the crown above her head.' More on BACCHUS AND ARIADNE
Carle or Charles-André van Loo, (15 February 1705 – 15 July 1765) was a French subject painter. He was the most famous member of a successful dynasty of painters of Dutch origin. His oeuvre includes every category: religion, history painting, mythology, portraiture, allegory, and genre scenes. Charles-André was born in Nice, then part of the Duchy of Savoy. Van Loo followed his brother Jean-Baptiste to Turin, and then to Rome in 1712, where he studied under Benedetto Luti and the sculptor Pierre Legros. After leaving Italy in 1723, he worked in Paris, studied at the Académie Royale, where he gained first prize for drawing in 1723, and received the first prize for historical painting in 1727. After again visiting Turin in 1727, he was employed by king Victor Amadeus II of Sardinia, for whom he painted a series of subjects illustrative of Tasso. In 1734 he settled in Paris, and in 1735 became a member of the Académie Royale de Peinture et de Sculpture and rose rapidly in the hierarchy of the academy. Madame de Pompadour and the French court were taking the artist under their patronage. He was decorated with the Order of Saint Michael and named First Painter to king Louis XV of France in 1762. He was a most successful court painter but his portraits as well as history paintings also enjoyed an enormous success throughout all Europe. He died in Paris on 15 July 1765. More on Carle or Charles-André van Loo
Bartholomeo Guidobono. Italian. 1654-1709.
Bacchus, the autumn, c. 1700
Oil on canvas
148 x 118 CM
Genova, Museo di Palazzo Reale
Bacchus is the Roman name for the Greek god Dionysus. Dionysus was the son of the Greek god Zeus (or Jupiter, to use his Roman equivalent) and a mortal woman named Semele. Dionysus was the Greek god of wine, the grape harvest, ecstasy and madness
Bartolomeo Guidobono (1654–1709) was an Italian painter of the Baroque period, active mainly in Northern Italy. He appears to have modeled his style to Northern influences such as Gaudenzio Ferrari and Corregio. He began as a painter of ceramic earthenware with his father, who worked for the royal court of Savoy. He afterwards went to work as a copyist to Parma, Venice, and Genoa. He was admired for his decoration of ornamental parts, such as flowers, fruits, and animals. He helped fresco the Palazzo Centurioni in Genoa. He painted an Inebriation of Lot and in three other subjects for the Palace Brignole Sale. His brother Domenico (1670–1746) helped paint the Duomo of Turin with a glory of angels. In his home town a city street and a secondary school are dedicated to the painter. More on Bartolomeo Guidobono
Alexandre Denis Abel de Pujol, French, 1787-1861.
Ixion chained in Tartarus. 1824
Oil on canvas
Private collection
George Fredrick Watts. British. 1817-1904
Endymion, c. 1872
Oil on canvas
52 x 65 cm
Private collection
Endymion was a handsome shepherd, hunter or king in ancient Greek mythology, who lived in the region of Elis. He was the son of Zeus, and had legendary beauty. Selene, the Titan goddess of the moon, fell in love with him, and asked Zeus to give him eternal youth. Zeus accepted her prayer and he made Endymion fall into an eternal sleep. Selene and Endymion had fifty daughters. According to another source, he was considered to have married Asterodia or Chromia, and had a number of sons and a daughter. He told his sons that they should run a race and the winner would get the throne; Epeius won and became the ruler of the region; one of his brothers, Aetolus, remained at home, while Paeon angry that he had lost went into self-exile. More on Endymion
Heinrich Friedrich Fuger. German. 1751-1818.
Prometheus brings fire to mankind. 1817
Oil on canvas
Private collection
Jean Charles Frontier. French. 1701-1763
Vulcan chaining Prometheus. 1744
Oil on canvas.
Private collection
Jean Louis Théodore Géricault (1791–1824)
The Raft of the Medusa, c. 1818 and 1819
Oil on canvas
491 × 716 cm (193.3 × 281.9 in)
Louvre Museum
George Frederic Watts, O.M., R.A., 1817-1904
A BACCHANTE
oil on canvas
92 by 71cm., 36 by 28in
Private collection
The present work dates from the late 1870s. Watts used a similar type of composition showing a bust length, partly draped female for The Wife of Pygmalion, exhibited in 1868. In his sculpture of Clytie, worked on mainly in the 1860s, the figure also turns her head, thus focusing attention on the neck and torso. A Bacchante shows Watts' continuing reference to classicism, even in his late carer. Here he depicts a semi-nude, draped female, and draws upon classical subject matter in the use of a Bacchante whose revels in honour of the god Dionysus are over. More
Titian, (1490–1576)
Perseus and Andromeda, c. between 1554 and 1556
Oil on canvas
Height: 185 cm (72.8 in). Width: 199 cm (78.3 in).
Wallace Collection, London, England
Arthur Spooner, 1873 - 1962
NYMPH IN A WOOD
Oil on canvas
107 by 51cm., 42 by 20in.
Private collection
Philip John Thornhill, 1875-1912
ANDROMEDA
Oil on canvas
101.5 by 51cm., 40 by 20in.
Private collection
In the epic poetry of Greece Andromeda was the fated daughter of King Cepheus and Queen Cassiopeia of Ethiopia. Doomed to be given in sacrifice to a sea-monster named Cetus after her vain mother offended the gods by claiming to be more beautiful than the Nereids, the princess was bound to rocks on the shore to await the beast. Returning from slaying the gorgon Medusa, Perseus saw the beautiful Andromeda and vowed to save her, to win her hand in marriage. The subject of Andromeda's sacrifice was popular with Victorian artists as a pretext for sexually charged nudity – the eroticism justified by the classical origins of the story. More
Jacopo del Sellaio, (Italian (Florentine), about 1441–1493)
Story of Psyche, c. 1490
Tempera and oil on panel (cassone panel)
42.1 x 151.8 cm (16 9/16 x 59 3/4 in.)
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
Venus was jealous of the maiden Psyche and sent Cupid, her son, to make Psyche fall in love with an insignificant man. However, Cupid fell in love with Psyche himself, visiting her in the dark to keep his identity secret. Here, Psyche, at right, views the sleeping Cupid to discover his identity. But oil from her lamp falls on Cupid, awakening him, and he abandons Psyche for her faithlessness. Sellaio’s style is based on that of the principal Florentine painters of his time, particularly Botticelli. More
Bartholomeus Breenbergh, 1598 - 1657 Amsterdam
NYMPHS BATHING
Oil on panel
14 1/4 by 18 1/2 in.; 36.2 by 47 cm.
Private Collection
Bartholomeus Breenbergh (before 13 November 1598 – after 3 October 1657) was a Dutch Golden Age painter of Italian and Italianate landscapes, in Rome (1619-1630) and Amsterdam (1630-1657).
At about age twenty, Breenbergh went to Rome and was influenced by the intimate, deeply poetic landscapes of German expatriate Adam Elsheimer. Breenbergh belonged to the first generation of Dutch Italianates, artists who traveled to Italy in the 1620s and were inspired by its light and atmosphere. With Cornelis van Poelenburgh, whose early style is very similar, Breenbergh helped to bring the Italianate tradition of landscape to the Low Countries, reflecting a fascination on the part of northern European artists with Italian landscapes rather than with the local topography. More
Bartholomeus Breenbergh, 1598 - 1657 Amsterdam
NYMPHS BATHING
Detail
At about age twenty, Breenbergh went to Rome and was influenced by the intimate, deeply poetic landscapes of German expatriate Adam Elsheimer. Breenbergh belonged to the first generation of Dutch Italianates, artists who traveled to Italy in the 1620s and were inspired by its light and atmosphere. With Cornelis van Poelenburgh, whose early style is very similar, Breenbergh helped to bring the Italianate tradition of landscape to the Low Countries, reflecting a fascination on the part of northern European artists with Italian landscapes rather than with the local topography. More
Flemish school of the 17th century
Orpheus Controlling Nature
Oil on panel
18x32 cm
Private Collection
Acknowledgement: Sotheby's,
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