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Description

Italian school; XVII century. "The Mares of Diodenes". Oil on canvas. Relined. Measurements: 58 x 107 cm; 70 x 120 cm (frame). In this Italian painting of baroque period and of dynamic composition appears represented the subject of the victory of Hercules over Diomedes. It narrates an episode of the labors of Hercules that has been treated on numerous occasions in paintings and sculptures of different periods. We refer to the eighth of the twelve labors of the hero, which consisted of capturing the four mares of Diomedes, who ate human flesh. Their owner kept them tied with chains and fed them with the flesh of their innocent guests. Hercules managed to snatch them from Diomedes, who went to meet them with his army, but the latter defeated him and threw the body, still alive, to the mares. After devouring the corpse, the mares became so tame that Heracles was able to tie them to Diomedes' chariot and took them to Mycenae, where they were given to Hera. Formally, this work is dominated by the influence of the Roman-Bolognese classicism of the Carracci and their followers, one of the two great currents of the Italian Baroque, together with Caravaggio's naturalism. Thus, the figures are monumental, with idealized faces and serene and balanced gestures, in an idealized representation based on classical canons. Also the rhetoric of the gestures, theatrical and eloquent, clearly baroque, is typical of the Italian classicism of the XVII century. It is also worth mentioning the importance of the chromatic aspect, very thoughtful, intoned and balanced, centered on basic ranges around red, ochre and blue. Also the way of composing the scene, with a circular rhythm and closed on one side while opening to the landscape on the other, is typical of this school of baroque classicism.

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Italian school; XVII century. "The Mares of Diodenes". Oil on canvas. Relined. Measurements: 58 x 107 cm; 70 x 120 cm (frame). In this Italian painting of baroque period and of dynamic composition appears represented the subject of the victory of Hercules over Diomedes. It narrates an episode of the labors of Hercules that has been treated on numerous occasions in paintings and sculptures of different periods. We refer to the eighth of the twelve labors of the hero, which consisted of capturing the four mares of Diomedes, who ate human flesh. Their owner kept them tied with chains and fed them with the flesh of their innocent guests. Hercules managed to snatch them from Diomedes, who went to meet them with his army, but the latter defeated him and threw the body, still alive, to the mares. After devouring the corpse, the mares became so tame that Heracles was able to tie them to Diomedes' chariot and took them to Mycenae, where they were given to Hera. Formally, this work is dominated by the influence of the Roman-Bolognese classicism of the Carracci and their followers, one of the two great currents of the Italian Baroque, together with Caravaggio's naturalism. Thus, the figures are monumental, with idealized faces and serene and balanced gestures, in an idealized representation based on classical canons. Also the rhetoric of the gestures, theatrical and eloquent, clearly baroque, is typical of the Italian classicism of the XVII century. It is also worth mentioning the importance of the chromatic aspect, very thoughtful, intoned and balanced, centered on basic ranges around red, ochre and blue. Also the way of composing the scene, with a circular rhythm and closed on one side while opening to the landscape on the other, is typical of this school of baroque classicism.

Estimate 2 000 - 2 500 EUR
Starting price 1 500 EUR

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