Scuola di Praga/Rudolfina del XVI/XVII secolo

Prague/Rudolfine School of the 16th/17th century Venus and Cupid Oil on canvas 121 x 82 cm The work represents a prestigious example of Rudolfina art with clear reminiscences of the Italian Renaissance and Mannerism, especially the Venetian art of Titian and his subjects with female nudes. Sensuality, despite being in the midst of the Counter-Reformation period of the Catholic Church, is a very recurring theme in the Rudolfine sphere, where the spirit of the Renaissance revives, investigated pictorially by the most renowned artists of the Prague cenacle such as Hans von Aachen, Daniel Froschl, Matthaus Gundelach, Joseph Heintz, Dirck de Quade van Ravesteyn and Bartholomaus Spranger. Upon Maximilian's death in 1576, Rudolph II succeeded to the Habsburg throne. Educated in Spain, a refined and cultured man of a shy and solitary character he established a picture gallery among the most important of his time. In 1583 he moved the capital of the kingdom from Vienna to Prague where he surrounded himself with prestigious masters of Nordic Mannerism. In Prague Castle, around 1590 Bartholomeus Spranger, was at the pinnacle of his prestige. Over the next two decades he, together with Hans van Aachen and Joseph Heintz, dominated the scene at this court that had become, with Fontainebleau and Augsburg, one of the most relevant seats of European Mannerism. In 1612 with the death of Rudolf II, the court was emptied of the surviving artists and scientists, and after more than a quarter of a century with the death of the ruler an era finally closed. Prague School/Rudolfina of the 16th/17th century Venus and Cupid Oil on canvas 121 x 82 cm The artwork represents a prestigious testimony of Rudolfine art with clear reminiscences of Italian Renaissance and Mannerism, especially the Venetian art of Titian and his subjects with female nudes. Despite being in the Counter-Reformation of the Catholic Church, sensuality is a very recurrent theme in the Rudolfine sphere, where the spirit of the Renaissance lives on, investigated pictorially by the most renowned artists of the Prague cenacle such as Hans von Aachen, Daniel Froschl, Matthaus Gundelach, Joseph Heintz, Dirck de Quade van Ravesteyn and Bartholomaus Spranger.