Aristotle And Phyllis, workshop of Bartholomäus Spranger (1546 –1611)

Bartholomäus Spranger (Antwerp, 1546 – Prague, 1611) workshop

Aristotle and Phyllis

Oil on canvas 64 x 54 cm In frame 79 x 72 cm

The curious subject of this painting, quite common between the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, is inspired by the medieval legend that tells how the philosopher Aristotle, known for his wisdom, was seduced and subjugated by the young and beautiful Phyllis.

Despite his professed discipline, the great scholar fell so deeply in love with the girl that he became her laughing stock, immortalised here on his knees while she rides him, thus demonstrating the power of seduction over reason. The story was interpreted as a warning about female power and the vulnerability of men, without distinction, even the wisest: it is therefore a sort of moralising fable intended to warn against the pleasures of the flesh.

The iconography is taken from an invention by Bartholomäus Spranger (Antwerp, 1546 - Prague, 1611), a leading exponent of European Mannerism and active at the Habsburg court in Prague, in the service of Emperor Rudolf II. The original painting, which has been lost, has been handed down thanks to Sadler's engraving, which we present in the attached images.

From a stylistic point of view and considering the period, we can easily consider our work as an example from his workshop or, more likely, from an artist from his close circle, and therefore date it to the early decades of the 17th century.

Given Spranger's role as the emperor's trusted painter, it is thought that this amusing illustration was created for the personal pleasure of Emperor Rudolf, a great patron and art collector but also a lover of women, alluding to his weakness and thus ironically warning him.

If even the learned Aristotle, whose erudition is evident from the books piled on the shelf, was powerless in the face of female cunning, anyone, including the emperor, would have been justified in giving in to the temptations of the flesh.