Offered by Antichità Castelbarco
Isaac de Moucheron (Amsterdam 1667 - 1744) circle
Renaissance garden with knightly festival
Oil on canvas 70 x 98 cm. In frame 106 x 133 cm.
We present this delightful composition, in which a sumptuous Italian garden provides the backdrop for a spectacle involving knights, specifically a carousel, a type of equestrian and theatrical event popular in European courts between the 16th and 18th centuries, in which knights in costume performed feats of skill on special occasions.
The composition is dominated by two knights in the foreground who seem to be waiting to perform on their steeds, while behind them others wait their turn, dressed in ceremonial robes, red and gold cloaks and elaborate headgear.
The scene depicts a court event, as was common in Italian gardens and historic villas: such events were often staged to celebrate weddings, royal visits or other important occasions, as we can imagine from the presence of the two trumpeters in the foreground announcing the participants to the sound of their instruments, adding a sense of grandeur to the event depicted.
In the background stands a light-coloured Renaissance-style stone structure with sculptural figures on top, surrounded by the vegetation of the garden, reminiscent of a monumental fountain or the façade of a palace.
A couple, perhaps royalty, are positioned in the centre as if on a throne, flanked by other figures watching the spectacle. The painting captures the festive and ceremonial atmosphere of such court entertainments.
The work, probably based on a real place, is certainly inspired by one of the many gardens that adorned the large villas on the hills between Florence and Rome. Our artist must necessarily have taken his cue for the setting from the famous series of prints entitled Fontane di Roma (Fountains of Rome, 1680) by Giovanni Battista Falda (1643-1678), some of which are shown in the photographic details.
Thanks to the stylistic characteristics of the work, which are unquestionably in keeping with 17th-century Flemish culture, we are inclined to attribute it to one of the Northern painters who came to the Eternal City to study.
In particular, there are many iconographic and stylistic similarities with a specific iconographic trend taken up by the Flemish artist Isaac de Moucheron (Amsterdam 1667 - 1744) during his stay in Rome, and the author could therefore likely be found within his circle.
Delevery information :
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