Allegory of the four elements, Piedmontese painter active in the first half of the 19th century
Oil on panel. Dimensions with frame: cm H 34.5 x W 25; panel only: cm H 29 x W 20.5
Price: private negotiation
Objects accompanied by a certificate of authenticity
The charming oil-painted panels, by an artist active in Piedmont in the first half of the 19th century, depict the allegory of the four elements of the Earth.
They are inspired by a group of four etchings from around 1730, based on drawings by the Rococo painter Jacopo Amigoni (Naples 1682 - Paris 1752) and engraved in Venice by Joseph Wagner (Gestratz, 1706 – Venice, 1780).
Each painting depicts the allegory of an element: earth, fire, water, and air.
Earth is represented by a young couple in a rural setting; the young man, accompanied by a small dog, offers a bouquet of flowers to the girl. Fire is depicted by a building on fire from which the couple who were preparing for a picnic are fleeing, as suggested by the wicker basket with crockery that the boy is holding. The element of water is recalled by fishing: while a young woman is intent on fishing, a boy offers her a fish caught with a net as a gift. Air is symbolically recalled by the flight of birds: the painting depicts a young man who, on a ladder leaning against a tree, takes a small bird and gently offers it to the girl, ready to welcome it into the fabric of her dress.
The four paintings re-propose the Arcadian taste widely spread in the 18th century, in which the classic and simple pastoral poetry was praised, through the recovery of the myth of Arcadia. The Earth becomes a source of peace and serenity, a place of the soul, where man lives in perfect harmony with Nature. The world of contemporary salons moves into groves and rural environments, set by shepherds and shepherdesses.
The works, in good condition, are characterized by a strong decorativeness and pleasantness of the subject.