Seguace del Parmigianino (Parma 1503 - 1540)

Follower of FRANCESCO MAZZOLA, known as IL PARMIGIANINO (Parma, 1503 - Casalmaggiore, 1540) Love Crafting the Bow (as a triumph of love and desire over reason and knowledge) (full link) Oil on canvas 138 x 105 cm / Framed 166 x 105 cm. Nineteenth-century relining. Scattered retouches, excellent state of preservation. Fine gilded wooden frame with molded edges from the end of the 19th century Important painting depicting Cupid as a full figure intent on carving his bow, a work made in oil on canvas attributable to an author following Francesco Mazzola, known as Parmigianino, active between the 17th and 18th centuries. The painting, which reveals itself to be of excellent quality, is a study dedicated to the famous altarpiece depicting Cupid crafting the bow made by Parmigianino in 1533/35 for the noble knight Francesco Baiardo, a friend and patron of the painter, now preserved at the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna (Sheet on the official museum website). This complex iconography and the way in which it is represented have made the painting an extraordinary example of the artist's ingenuity and refinement. His contemporaries, in fact, recognized in him that beauty of style and that refinement of line that characterized his works. For these reasons, the work enjoyed enormous popularity and exerted a profound and lasting influence, as demonstrated by the fact that over the years it was copied and taken as a model by numerous artists. There are more than 50 copies, among which, the most illustrious, that of the Alte Pinakothek in Munich by Joseph Heintz the Elder, and that of Rubens, from 1614, which is preserved at the Alte Pinakothek in Munich [1]. The painting represents the young Cupid who, occupying the entire scene, of tall and narrow format to perfectly frame his statuary body, is intent on making the bow with which he shoots his arrows of love. He is not represented as a child but as an adolescent, an aspect that deliberately had to confer a greater sensual character to the composition: the figure conceived by Parmigianino was certainly inspired by the ancient Hellenistic sculptures that represented the young man. Cupid turns suddenly and seductively observes the viewer, disrespectfully pointing his left leg on two books to support the bow, symbolizing the triumph of love and desire over reason and knowledge. The attention to the lower half of the painting is drawn by the two putti that can be glimpsed between Cupid's legs, embraced in a hug. The little boy, who is winged, directs a look of malicious complicity at the viewer, forcefully squeezing the little girl, who tries to rebel in a grimace of anger, and takes her right wrist as if to direct her to touch Cupid, or to submit to Love. The two children are identified as the pitfalls of unrequited love, which Cupid himself will soon appease with one of his arrows. Various interpretative hypotheses have been formulated on the couple of cupids: Anteros and Liseros (respectively the masculine impulse that gives strength to love and the feminine principle that contrasts its vehemence), or Sacred Love and Profane Love. The characters of the painting suggest a dating between the 17th and 18th centuries and the author is certainly to be sought among the various followers who, looking to the Parmesan master as an example of style, replicated some highly successful models and therefore very requested by the prestigious patronage of the time. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: The work is sold complete with a gilded wooden frame and is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity and descriptive iconographic sheet. We take care of and organize the transport of purchased works, both for Italy and abroad, through professional and insured carriers. It is also possible to see the painting in the gallery in Riva del Garda, we will be happy to welcome you to show you our collection of works. Contact us, without obligation, for any further information. Also follow us on: INSTAGRAM https://www.instagram.com/galleriacastelbarco/?hl=it FACEBOOK https://www.facebook.com/galleriacastelbarco/