Historical Subject

Oil on canvas. Mid-19th century. The large scene tells a historical episode, not identified, set in the Renaissance period, in which an archbishop listens to the plea of a young man in arms, accompanied by his mother, who supports his plea. The setting is inside the reception hall of the high prelate, presumably in the bishop's palace, which from the loggia in the background overlooks the Duomo, of which the dome can be glimpsed; the bishop is surrounded by his subordinates and guards, while different people of the people watch. Particular is the presence of the man sitting in the foreground on the left, who looks towards the spectator and indicates the scene, as if he were telling it. The atmosphere is played on the contrasts between light and shadow, between the bright colors of the dominant characters compared to the dull and muted tones of the background figures, which literally tend to disappear into the shadows at the edges of the scene. The work falls within that broad nineteenth-century production that referred to the historical or literary subject, re-proposing it in a romantic key. The painting, restored and relined, is presented in an important frame from the second half of the 19th century, with missing parts. Frame dimensions (cm): Height: 142 Width: 174 Depth: 10 Artwork dimensions (cm): Height: 106 Width: 138 ARAROT0132005