Work of the School of Fontainebleau, Venus with Cupid

anticSwiss 23/09/2021 13:52:37 http://www.anticswiss.com

FOR SALE ANTIQUE DEALER Period: 16° secolo - 1500 Ars Antiqua srl Milano Style: Alta epoca +39 02 29529057 393664680856 Height:43cm Width:26cm Material:Olio su tavola Price:3800€

DETAILED DESCRIPTION:

School of Fontainebleau, 16th century Venus and Cupid Oil on panel, 43 x 26 cm - with frame 66 x 46 cm Back sealing wax with the mark of the Duke of Luxembourg

The panel examined, with a mythological subject, depicts Venus and Cupid and a pair of cupids sitting next to them, intent on playing with some doves, typical attributes linked to the goddess. Venus appears half-naked, only covered by a cloth that surrounds her hips, and reaches out towards the two putti, raising her left arm towards the sky, as if to gently admonish them. At his side, Cupid, typically depicted as a winged child, holds the bow firmly in his hand, while his fatal darts are placed on the ground. The scene is framed by a bucolic landscape played on the shades of greens and browns that is lost in the background and which brings out the pale and ethereal embodiment of the deities, illuminated by a sharp light, aimed at emphasizing their expressions, dynamic poses and marked gestures. The stylistic and formal characteristics of the work allow us to place the author within the context of the school of Fontainebleau, an artistic movement that developed in 16th century France, closely linked to the patronage of Francis I (Cognac, 1494 - Rambouillet, 1547). The then king of France, in fact, had expressed the desire to recreate a rich and refined court, but also cultured, at the height of the great European Renaissance palaces. Elected his residence, the castle of Fontainebleau ordered its renovation and decoration works in 1528, surrounding himself with numerous artists, mainly Italian and almost exclusively acquainted with the current of Italian Mannerism, who contributed to spreading Italian painting beyond the Alps. an initial period of work under the supervision of Gilles Lebreton, this passed to Rosso Fiorentino and his followers: among these were Primaticcio, Nicolò dell'Abate, Luca Penni, Benvenuto Cellini, Jacopo Barozzi da Vignola and Sebastiano Serlio. The works lasted until 1590. The artists who succeeded one another not only dealt with the decoration of the interiors and the external gardens, but also designed and decorated numerous of common use. In

1 / 3 anticSwiss 23/09/2021 13:52:37 http://www.anticswiss.com general, the stuccos and frescoes made by the exponents of the school included allegories, mythological stories, landscapes and grotesques. Extravagant decorations, full of expressive charge and dynamic tension, alternated with sensual female nudes and bucolic landscapes. The school was remarkably successful and also inspired subsequent generations of painters: in the 17th century, under the reign of Henry IV, the so-called second school of Fontainebleau was born. The iconographic success of the scenes depicting Venus and Cupid among the artists of Fontainebleau is testified by two other works now preserved in important international museums: The toilet of Venus of the Musée du Louvre and Venus and Cupid of the Fine Art Museum of San Francisco. In these paintings, as in the canvas examined, a careful study of the composition and a predilection for the serpentine and elegant poses of the figures emerge, linked together by a variety of gestures and games of glances. https://www.anticswiss.com/en/fine-art-antiques/work-of-the-school-of-fontainebleau-venus-with-cupid-23358

2 / 3 anticSwiss 23/09/2021 13:52:37 http://www.anticswiss.com

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