Francesco Furini's "Hylas and the Nymphs"

Patricia Bra

The rela1ionship be1ween an1ique an and Baroque auburn hair which falls down her back is adorned by painting is a complex maze o[ ancient myth and seicento slrands of pearls and s1reaming ribbons. Still folds of allegory. The highly sophislicated 1astes of 17th cenlllry drapery, dropped in her rush 10 cap1ure the boy. encase antiquarians were seldom sa1isfied with a mere copy o f an her thighs. ancieni sculplure or a s1raigh1forward presenta1ion o f a To the right ol 1his ce111ral group are four more naiads. my1hological scene. Much of wha1 appears ambiguous to 1wo of whom swim through 1in1ed swells 10 join the strug• today's viewer once held many layers of meaning. Though gle for possession o f the youth and who are engaged in a 1he allegorical in1en1 of major mythological figures such biwrre pas de Hercules and Apollo is still understood. the signifi· depicls one n)'mph shoving 1he head of her competi1or cance o f many of the minor mythological heroes 10 se,,en• under the breaking wave. In the background 1he remain• 1ee111h cen1ury pa1rons has been lost. The object o f this ing two undines watch the abd uction scene with nonchal· prcsenl s1udy. 1herclore. is 10 o ffer a few suggcs1ions for ancc bu1 at any momen1 may be aroused 10 join the others the sources of Francesco Furini's Hy /as and the Nymphs in the seduc1ion of Hylas. and possible reasons for the sudden popularity of the myth The figure of H ylas is clo1hed in an exo1ic cos1ume of in Florence during the 1630s. red velvet relieved a1 1he sleeve by a slash of white under­ According 10 Baldinucci. Furini's Hy/as (Fig. I) was garmeni. The enormous white plume which rises out of his crea1ed in Florence in 1hc ea rly decades of the seven• cap is a repeti1ion o f the one in Furini's A cis and Galatea 1ee111h ceniury as a priva1c commission for Agnolo Galli : and is used again in his Youth in a Plumed Hat and ii has Assai quadri dunque ebbe egli a fare per diversi been suggested that the same model was used for all 1hree gentiluomini. Ira qua Ii 1roppo bello e 1roppo vero pain1ings.• Hylas' outfit is completed by a huge black cape riusci un quadro da sala per Agnol Galli, ow egli which swirls behind him, almost indis1inguishable against rapprescn 10 ii giovanelto Ila el bagno delle Ninfe. rhe dark sky which looms ominously in 1he dis1ance. An engraving afler 1he painting by 8cnede110 Enredi (Fig.3)' tutte. quanto ii naturale. in varie attitudini . .. 1 defines the dark shape to 1he left of Hylas as a rock The painling has since been sold many times .' Today forma1ion. something difficul1 to see in 1he original work 1he work is on permanenl display in the Palatine Gallery due, perhaps. 10 1he layers of varnish which discolor 1he o f 1hc P..ilazzo Pi1ti.' Measuring 7 h. 6'/2in. by 8 11. 6¾ in., i1 surface. is one of Furini's more ambi1ious early works and is gen• All the figures are placed close to the pic1ure plane erally da1ed be1ween 1630 and 1633.• wi1h li1tle a11emp1 10 define piclorial depth. Drapery has A smaller replica of th e Pi11i Hy/as which was exe· been kepi 10 a minimum - the small wisps of drapery are cu1ed either by Furini or by one of his s1uden1s, may be almos1 cellophane in 1heir transparency, heightening the seen in 1he M illtown Collection in 1he Naiional Gallery in sense o f eroticism. The sofl creamy flesh of the nymphs Dublin. Ireland.' In addi1 ion. there are two prepara1ory dissolves seductively into the veh-ety shades of ultrama­ drawings by Furini for Hy/as. One is a small red chalk rine sfumato. an effect for which Furini was famous ."' ske1ch auc1ioned by Chris1ie·s in 1969' and 1he 01her is a Hylas· ornate brass pitcher, abandoned during 1he amo· larger, more finished s1udy (Fig. 2) which is housed in 1he rous struggle, may be seen in the lower foreground. A Gabineuo Disegni e Siampc in 1he U ffizi .' stormy noc1urnal sky illuminated by cool lunar rays com· Hy/as and the Nymphs is typical of Furini's early pe· ple1es the eerie melodrama o f 1he scenario" and acts as a riod during which he displayed a marked proclivi1y for 1hea1rical backdrop 10 the aqua1ic !heft. mythological or literary subjec1s which allowed him 10 The s1ory of H ylas is tragically brief. Set. within the cxhibil his nol inconsiderable gifl for depic1ing llesh. largers1ory of Jason. our episode begins not long after 1he Hy/as gave the painter an opportunity 10 indulge in a Argonau1s se1 sail in their quest for 1he Golden Fleece. hedonistic and overtly ero tic rendition which undoubt· The ad \'enture had scarcely begun when the Argo was edly says a good deal about 1he private 1as1es or Aoren · forced 10 land temporarily on the By1hnian coast to allow tine aristocracy in the early seicento. Furini"s pain ting Hercules to replace a broken oar. Upon making camp. por1rays six wa1er Inymphs surrounding a 1urbaned an· Hercules scnl his squire. H ylas, in search of water. The drogynous you1h. Long sinuous arms of 1wo spri1es en· boy soon found a sacred spring inhabited by nymphs. As 1wine the youth to drag him down into 1he 1empes1uous he knelt 10 draw water in his brass pi1cher the n)'fllphs green wa1ers. As Hylas a11emp1s 10 drive off the passion· caught sigh1 o f his lo,-elycountenance and were seized by a1e embrace of one nymph, he 1urns his face wi1h vexation a sudden passion for lhe you1h. They dragged him in101hc and kni11ed brows 1owards a second nymph who rises fully waters and Hylas was never seen again . Hercules. over· ou1 of 1he waters to fling her arms abou1 his neck. Her come by grief a1 the loss o f his Io,,,d one, con1inued to

JJ search for the boy long after the Argo sailed on without Thou has a love most like to Hylas. child ol him.'! Theioda mas. one not less fair nor ol humbler Antique li1erary sources ror the myth are numerous'\ birth. Beware then, whether thou wanderest by but two Greek poems (Apollonius Rhodius· Argo11au1ica the holy streams of Umbrian forests. or Anio's and Theocritus· /clyll XI II "Hylas") are the most complete waters lave thy leet. or walk 'st thou on the margc accounts of the legend. The ArJ.:onautic:a version'" care· of the Giant's strand. or wheresoe·r a river's wan· rullydcscribes the plot and differentiates the single nymph dering waters welcome thee. beware and from who captures Hylas from the blithe spirits who dance in thy love ward off the hands of nymphs that burn the waters and who are described as being of varied to steal (the Ausonian Dryads love as warmly as hahitat. i.e .. naiads (fresh water nymphs ). nereids (salt their sisters loved). lest it be thy fate ever to visit water nymphs). oreads (nymphs or mountains and grot· cruel mountains and icy crags and lakes. that toes) and hermadryads (wood nymphs associated with thou hast tried to thy cost. Such woes the ill· springs). This water nymph: starred wanderer Hercules suffered in a far land and bewailed by the shores of the relentless As• was just rising from the [air-flowing spring: and can ius.2' the boy she perceived close al hand with the rosy flush of his beauty and sweet grace. For the Full Both poets and painters discovered the myth's pictor· moon beaming from the sky smote him. And ial possibilities as evidenced by the large number of an• Cypris made her heart Faint. and in her confusion cient illustrations on the subject." A particularly colorful she could scarcely gather her spirit back to her. mosaic from the Basilica ol Junius Bassus in Rome (Fig. But as soon as he dipped the pitcher in the stream , 4 )'·' depicts the Theocri1an version with three nymphs. leaning to one side. and the brimming water rang Other ancient illustrations of the myth appear on wall loud as it poured against the sounding bronze. frescoes. sarcophagi and coins. Invariably the illustr:.1· Stra ightway she laid her left arm above upon his 1ions include a struggling you th. a water vessel and one or neck yearning to kiss his tender mouth: and with more agressi,,e nymphs in an aquatic setting. Occasion· her right hand she drew down his elbow, and ally Hercules is also included in the b-ackground. plunged him into the midst of the eddy." During the Renaissance the theme was revived in Flor· The short pastorale Idyll XIII by Theocritus" differs ence in the poetry of Lorenzo de' Medici.'' It also found basically by raising the abducting ante to three specifi­ its way into a number of cassone paintings which illus• cally named naiads: trated portions of the legend of the Golden Fleece. The choice of the Argonaut adventure would have been a And bright-haired Hylas took a brass pitcher pleasing one to a successful wool merchant with its allu· and went in search for their supper. sions to the more heroic purveyor of woolen goods. Jason!' for Heracles himself and steadfast Telemon, A painting by Piero di Cosimo traditionally known as who were his comrades in arms and messmates. Hy/as Abducted by the Nymphs (Fig. 5) and commissioned He soon disco,ered in Florence by the wool merchant Pugliese was re-titled in a spring in a low-lying spot. thick with rushes. the 1930s as The Fall of Vulcan 011 /.,emnos. ,. Panofsky's and lustrous kingcups. pallid maidenhair. greatest objections to the "Hylas" identification were the swelling celery. and coarse marsh grasses. lack of bronze vase, lack of a water supply and the elabor· In the deep of the pool. three nymphs threaded ate costuming of the young ladies since water nymphs dance- could not be expected to be clothed. While his arguments the unsleeping nymphs. dread of the country· for the painting to be identified as Vulcan 011 Le1111ws are side- convincing. it must be pointed out that an earlier cassone Eunice and Malis. and Nycheia with spring in her painting by Biagio de Antonio (1465) had already created a glances. precedent lor well-dressed nymphs on dry land abducting Intent on filling his thirsty pitcher. he lowered it Hylas with no vase in sight (Fig. 6).'7 Perhaps Piero meant close to the surface. and they laid hands on him, his painting to represent the Argo11autica version with all only one nymph taking posession of the youth, placing by Eros fancy-struck for the Argive boy. one arm above his neck and one hand on his elbow. Since Headlong he fell, under the black water, Apollonius does not specify that the nymphs are all naiads as a flaming star falls headlong under the sea. and are. in fact, of varied habitat. they need not be nude (And some sailor. seeing it. says to his mates. or even dressed the same. In any case. Peiro's painting 'lighten the tackle. boys: the wind sits fair') may have already achieved the Hy/as title by the early The nymphs were trying to soothe the weeping seventeenth century or served as a model to Furini as an boy untitled example of six nymphs and a young boy. with gentle words. holding him on their laps." Nymphs and nymph lore seemed to fascinate the Flor· A Roman version of the story is less clear in its inter· en tines and an endless variety of paintings, poems. plays. pretation and meaning."The short poem by Propertius is fountains and water festivals were comm issioned in the dedicated to the Roman citizen, Gallus.a name which had city and many of the creations were peopled with these appeared in one of PropertiuS° earlier poems.'• The body fascinating creatures. Another possible Florentine "Hylas" of the poem departs from the traditional text of Theo· is the sixteenth century marble plaque which decorated a critus and Apollonius only slightly but the introduction to fountain (Fig. 7)." Water originally gushed from the over· the tale is particularly interesting in which he warns Gallus. turned vessel and from the mouths of the two sea crea· "Fortune oft pro,-es adverse to the heedless lover."" tores. Although the dolphins probably do rule out the .14 scene as taking place in a fresh water spring. the aggres• nize. However, the size of the work would seem 10 demand sively amorous action of the nymph who kisses the passive a more serious reason for the incentive 10 commission youth on her lap recalls Theocritus' closing line in which such a huge painting. "the nymphs were trying to soothe the weeping boy with In later years Agnolo Galli was 10 commission sewral gentle words, holding him on their laps.'.,, works from Lorenzo Lippi. Some of these paintings con· The Florentines were not the only ones 10 illustrate the tained portraits of members of his family portrayed as Hylas myth."' The German engraver Joachim von San• biblical characters."' This tendency to have himself, wife. drart" and his pupil Renier van Persyn" both illus1ra1ed children, servants and friends painted 1010 narrative scenes the subject while in Rome during the early 1630s. Where· no doubt began early in his career as a patron. But if Hylas abouts of these engravings arc presently unknown but it is a portrait of someone other than Furini's favorite male is likely that they were done after the famous Roman model there is no remaining documentation 10 indicate mosaic (Fig. 4) which was still in place in the church of who it might have been. The large painting may have been Sant'Andrea in Catabarbara." created in fond memory of a beloved young cousin, friend Furini may ha,~ seen these engravings after van Persyn or trusted page who died in the terrible plague which by Sandrart or he may have viewed the original work of struck Florence from 1631 through 1633:" Galli would, marble inlay himself while working in Rome with the thereby. have cast himself in the role of Gallus or, more fellow Florentine, Giovanni de San Giovanni." Either likely, as the heroic grieving Hercules. way, Furini's painting is clearly based on the ancient Furini's Hy/as gained instant notoriety and the artist work. Though the Roman piece shows but three naiads. could not resist using it as a calling card and signature on only two are actively auacking the boy. Furini's painting his Childbirth of Rachel by painting the tiny Hylas scene likewise shows two nymphs with arms about a youth while on a bronze vase in the lower foreground (Fig. 8)."' The multiplying the third nonchalant nymph of the Roman story bl)Came immensely popular in certain circles of work into four equally insouciant naiads. In both cases society. The homo-erotic possibilities of the myth were Hylas is balanced on one knee on a rocky shore with his wasted on the family-oriented Galli but this was not the other leg cast into the water while turning his head and case with other members of Florentine aristocracy, par· alarmed gaze to the nymph on the left. The nymph direct· ticularly those in the Medici court. Baldassare Frances· ly 10 the right of Hylas is in both cases seated on a rock chini, called ii Yollerrano, was 10 fully exploit the alle· formation. The backgrounds are equally undifferentiated gorical connotations of the Hylas story and the presumed with exception of a rocky hill that rises 10 the left. more relationship between Hercules and Hylas. He painted al easily viewed in the engraving after Furini by Enredi (Fig. least four of these allegorical works'' one ol which is 3). Furini has obviously revised the composition and de• known to have been done after the likeness of Marchese tails. The red cape of the Roman mosaic has been changed Altoviti. paggio di valigia 10 Francesco Parrocchiani who to a black one and the red color lavished on Hylas· velvet commissioned the work." The painting shown here (Fig. costume. But there can be liule doubt that Furini has 9) sho ws Yolterrano's typical presentation of a young borrowed heavily from the older illustration. page-boy dressed up as Hylas in half length and holding a Why Agnolo Galli commissioned the painting is a bit bronze or gold pitcher. On occasion the vase is decorated more difficult 10 ascertain. This wealthy young banker in a repousee illus1ra1ion of the rape of Hylas.<> patronized many Florentine Baroque painters besides Fur· This type of allegorical portraiture of pretty young ini and his tastes usually tended towards "cheerful" nar· boys in the guise of Ganymede and Hylas found ready rative paintings and landscapes." His choice of this rather acceptance in the hot-house society of Aorence after morbid subject needs further investigation. Galli lived in a Ferdinand II gained his majority in 1627." If casual rela· society which actively pursued scholarly and literary ac· tionships between minor nobility and their pages were no1 complishment. Perhaps Galli was inspired by Marino's publicly flouted. they were al least privately winked al poem Adonis which was currently circulating about Italy since even Ferdinand II was a known pederast.'' and creating quite a furor." The reference lo Hylas in the Francesco Furini's Hy/as and the Nymphs was a high poem is in the fifth canto and at least forty lines are given point in Florentine Baroque painting and sparked the to the tale. Marino's smoky eroticism had much in com• imagination of many. This work instigated the creation of mon with Francesco Furini's specialization in sensuous a new iconographic presentation of the Hylas myth as· female nudes and the styles of the two contemporaries, allegorical portraiture by the contemporary painter, ii one poet and the other painter, were noted for their Yollerrano. The theme enjoyed popularity for a brief similarity during the seventeenth century even as they are period in Florence during the 1630s and early ·40s and today. On 1heo1her hand, Galli might have recognized the then did not re-emerge until the late nineteenth century in family name in Propertius' poem" which warned Galle England and America when poets and painters rediscov• against the loss of his lover and commissioned the work as ered the disquieting, poignant qualities of the tale. a visual pun that sophisticated associates would recog·

I Filippo Baldinucci. Notizie dei ProfeJ,Sori de/ Di:reg,io da Cimalme J Anna Maria Francini Ciaranfi, U! Gollen·e Pala1i11~. (Novara: lns.tituto a Qi"'• \'OI. IV. (Florence: 8atelli. 1846). p. 631. Goografico de Agostini, 1957), p. I 13.

2 Giuseppe Cantelli. Disegtti di Francesco Furini. (florence: Unione 4 8aldinucci was never cenain in the chronology of Furini's paintings Fiorentina, 1969). p. 19. and (he problem or dating persi5LS. R>r more information on the career

JS or Furini see: L.. Buerckcl. ··M'anccsco F'urini,"Jorbuch d. K,11ut Samm. 26Erwin P-J1lo[sky, Swdies in /conolul!,y. (New York: loo1l Edi1ions. d. all. Kaiser. \'Vien 27 pt, 1(1908): 55·90. G. Corti. "Co1nributi a.II viw 1939. 1962). pp . .l4·J9. c allc opcrc d i Franccsoo Furin i." Arttichitd Vfra 10 n. 2 {1971 ): l4·2J. A. Srn,nghellini. Fra11cesco Furi,,i, pillf Art B1tl/e11i, were written by Dougla.~ (ci(cd atxwe) and Panofsky arguing the idenlifico· d'Artc YOI. XII. 1914). E. Toe.sea. Francesco Fun·11i. (Rome: Turntni· nelli. 1950). tion of the subject of Picro·s painting. Curiously. nei1her cited 1he Argo11a11tica nor the cassone painling published by Paul Schubring. "Cassone Pictures in America," Art 1i1 Americ,, 11 (1923): 231 •243: 5 Michael Wynne, '"The Milltowns a,; P-atrons," Apollo 99 (February 1974): 108·109. See .also: The National Gallery of Ireland Catalogue Co.,.so1ti, Textband (Leipzig: HierSmann. 191.S). p. 286. Tafelbllnd. no. 1658. (1923). Tafel LXX I. Also.see: John Pope·Hennessy and Keith Chris• ti:mscn. "Cassone P.,rnels." Me1ropoliron M1m: 111t1 of Art Bulleti11 38 6Apo//o90(November 1969): ui. Advertisement ror a sale a, Christie's n. I (Summer 1980): 29. figs. 21·24. o n February 12. 1969. 28 Decoraz.ione d i Rmtanc. Sec XVI Florence. Ba.rgello In,•. 281. 7 Giuseppe Cantelli, Diseg11i de Fra11cesro fi,n'ni, (Florence: Leo S. Olschki Edito re, 1972). p. 252. 29 Rist. p. I 22.

8Toesca. (see note 4). p, 9. See also: J. ffissman and H. Hibbard. 30 Andor Pigler. &rocktheme11 , Eine Auswahl von Verzeichnissen zur F1or1:mi11c Baroque Art from America,, O,llectio11.r. (New York : k-onographiedes 17. und 18. ( Budapest: Akftdemiai KaidO. 1956) p. Metropolit.i.n Museum. 1969), p. 43. 126 Cl 974 edition). p. IJS.

9 Buerckel. (sc:e note 4). p. 56. No later ,han 16". 31 Ibid. See also Thieme•Bce:kcr. 32 Chatles Le Blanc. Man11e/ de /'amateur dQ.stampcs. (P.,uis: P, Jannet. 10 According to Baldinucci (Vol. IV. p. 642) Furini s,ayed in deb, because of cxlra\!aganl expenditure.,; o n highly paid models and ,-osdy ··auuro 1854. Reprin1 Amtterdam: G. W. Hussink. 1970) Vol. II. p. 174 o ltrainarino" to create his chaiacteristic blue mists. "Persyn: no. 4. Hylas accueilli par les NC.rC ides: J. Sandrart." 33 Ernest Na,sh. Pictorial Dictionary ofAnci ent Rome. 2d edition. Vol I, 11 Ellis Wa1erhouse.Ita/iar1 Baroq,ut Pai11ti11g, (London: Phaidon. 1962) (New York. : Praegcr. 1961 ). p. 190. The Junius Bassus basilica was built has suggested 1hc lighting effect is the resul, of a na.~h o f ligh1ning. in mid-fourth century and then com-enetian Church or Sant'Andrea in Ca1abarbara in mid•fifth century. The ancicn, marble 12 Hercules cries of "Ila. Ila. Ila" were lhe origin of a modem Greek dccora1ions remained intact and drawings from lhe fifteenth and six• expression meaning to attemp1 something in vain. 1centh ccnturicsshow lhcm s1ill in place. The Hylas decoraciom were fflO\'Cd in the seventeenth ceniury to a p riva1e collec1ion in Rome. 13 fur ~mpleLe l~stings of literary and pic,orial examples of the Hyla." myth m the antiq ue world consult Roscher.Ausf1'ihrlich'1s U!xico,, dur Griech. u11d Rom. M)'lhologie. (Leip1.ig: Tucbner. 1880·1890). pp. 34 Baldinucci. p. 630, 2794·5 and P-.iuly-Wissowa. Real EncyclopUdie. (Siungart, 1914). 35 Sheila Rinehart, "Cassiano dal Pouo.-11alla11 Studies. Manchcs1cr, England (1961): 35•59. Corres-pondence between Agnolo Galli and 14 George W. Mooney. editor. The A11:onau1ica ofApollo,1i11 s Rhodiu.s. Cassiano dal Pozzo. 1he fanlous Roman art dealer. (Dublin: Long.mans. 1912). 36 James MirolJo. The Poet of the Man-e/ou.s: Giombouista Marino. 15 Apollonius Rhodius. The Argo11a11tica Book I. (English trans. by (New York: Columbia Uni ..·ersity Press. 1963). See also : Giovan Bat· Loeb Oassics). pp. 87•9I. 1ista Marino. Adon if. \"erses 72•107. reprinted in 01,cro Scclte. Vol. I. (Torino: 1ipografia TemporeUi. 1954), pp. 401402. lb Anna Rist. The Poems of Theocn·tus, (Chapel Hill: Uni,•crsity of North Carolina Press. 1978), pp. 120·122. 37 Richardson. p. 52. 17/bid. 38 Rinchan. p. 48. 18 L. Richardson. Propertius: Elegies /•JV, (Uni\'ersity of Oklahoma 39 Eric CochrdnC. Florence i11 the Forgottefl Cent11ries, 15]7•/6')(}. Press. 1977). Liber Primus. XX on pp. 52·$..1. (Chicago: University of Olicago Press. 1973) Book Three. 1-lor· ence in the l630s, pp. 165--231 . 19The name of Gallus appears in earlier poems in the fim book by Proper1ius (1.10) but it is no1 evidently 1he same person. The sex of Gallus· lover is no t mentioned and perhaps only 1he name was similar 40 Evelina Borea. LA Qi,udrerio di Do,i Um.mzo de' Medici, (Firenze: Im). pp. 4445. Commissioned by Lorenzo de" Medici for the Villa 10 that of Hylas. Richardson (cited above. p. 207) suggests that "if we della Pctraia in 1633. A copy of the work exists (including ,h~ Hylas arc meant 10 understand il. it must mean that Gallus is to keep his love detail on the bronze basin) by Leonardo Ferroni. a s tudem of Furini. from the watering spots of Italy . We may also a.').k whether Gallus has 001 been deliberately pa.rading a boy of grea1 beauty before the 4 1 Gerhard Ewald. "Unknown works by Baldassare Franceschini, called world of fashio n and is 1,ow being taken 10 1ask for this by the poet.'' ;1 Volterrano (1611-1689)," Burlington (1963): 272-283. On page 283 Ewald lists Voherrano's paintings according to Baldinucci: "Vincen• 20 The Elegies ofProper1i11s , Book. I, English cranslation by H.F. Butler. zio Vettori. ca\!aliercgcrosolimitano (Bald. V. p. 179) ha un belissimo (New York : Pu1nam. 1929). p. 53. riirauo d i medesimo. fano dal Vohcrrano. alla presenza del mento· vato cat dinalc Gian Carlo (de' Medici). in tempo che e.sso Vettori era 21 Ibid. suo paggio di valigia'· and ··Colori alla presenza di questo principc (Mattias de' Medici) un bcl ricrauo d'Ornz.io Piccolomini senese. suo 22 Enciclopedia dell'arte antica, c/assico e orier11ole XII. (Rome: 196l ). paggiodi valigia.. (Bald. V .• p. 176) ·•Jacopodcl Turcoebbcun llaoon pp. 103·104. vaso. chc poi fu del marchesc C.arloGcrini"(Bald. V .. p. 177) and .. Per Cosimo Citemi dipinse a o lio in un ovato un Ila con vaso.. (Bald. V.• 23/bid. oolorplate p. 102. 161). 24 Lorenzo de' Medici. Poesic: S011e11l e Ca,tzoni. New edition. Fore· word by Carducci (Aorence: G. Barbera. 1859). p. 127. 42 Baldinucci. V. . p. 161 . 43 This is the cJASe in the painting illustrated in yet another work repro· 25 Langton Douglas. Piero di Cosimo, (Chicago: Uni\·crsity of Chicago duced by Charles McCorquodale, Paiming in f1orem·e 1600-1700, Press. 1946) has suggested that the Hyla.,; theme is connected with the (Cambridge: Fi12william Museum. London: Royal Academy. 1979)p, wool trade in Aorence. 72.

J6 Fig. 2. Francesco Furini. Study. Florence: Gabine110 Di· Fig. 3. Bcncde110 Enredi. Hylas a,ul the Nymphs. engrav· segni e Stampe. ing.

Fig. 4, Rape of Hy/as by the Nymphs, Roman ca. 350. Florence: Palazzo Vecchio. 38 Fig. S. Pierodi Cosimo. f~1•/asAbductedby the Nymphs or 11,e Fall of Vulca11 011 the lsla11d of I.R11111os. Hart ford. Connec1icu1 : Wadsworth A chcneum .

Fig. (,. Biagio di Anconio. Ja so11 a11d the Argonauts (de· tail). New York: Mecropolitan Museum of Arc . .1? Fig. 8. Francesco Furini. 77,e Childbirth ofRae/tel (detail). Munich: Castle of Schleissheim.

Fig. 7. Marble fountain decoration. Florence: Bargello.

Fig. 9. II Volterrano. Hy/a s. Florence: Gallerie Swtali. 40