Description:

oil on canvas
280 x 250 mm

Provenance:

Private collection, France

Note:

This jewel-like painting of a reclining satyress is a typical example of the free handling, bright tonality and mythological subject matter favoured by the Vicenza-based painter Giulio Carpioni. Illuminated by a clear cool light, the painting exemplifies Carpioni’s mature style of the late 1660s and early 1670s. Framed by an illusionistic circular border, the satyress, shown with the upper body of a young woman and the hind legs of a goat, is situated in an arcadian landscape, and thinly veiled by a pink drapery. In its pose and countenance the figure resembles other female figures – nymphs, Dryads, and Naiads ­– from the Bacchanalian and mythological scenes for which Carpioni was best known. The Bacchanal at the Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid, and the Bacchanalia at the Accademia Carrara, Bergamo, are characteristic examples of the type.

The carefully constructed illusionistic border, which resembles a roundel, has a reflective golden sheen along the lower right-hand edge and suggests that the painting was not intended as a preparatory oil sketch for a larger work, but as an independent composition. In this regard, the painting is rare in its depiction of a single figure. Comparable paintings set within illusionistic borders from Carpioni’s late career can be seen at the Blanton Museum of Art, Austin, and on the Viennese art market in 2018. These illusionistically framed works were produced in pairs and it is possible that a partner painting to the satyress may yet be discovered.

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