Agostino Masucci (Rome, circa 1691 – 1758), attr., Diana bathing with the nymphs

Agostino Masucci (Rome, circa 1691 – 1758), attr.

Diana bathing with the nymphs

Oil on canvas, 100 x 137 cm

With frame, 124 x 162 cm

The painting in question, depicting the famous mythological subject of Diana bathing with the Nymphs, takes up the iconographic model inaugurated by the painter from the Marche Carlo Maratta (1625 – 1713) with the contribution of Gaspard Dughet (1615 – 1675) for Prince Lorenzo Onofrio Colonna (ca. 1660), then passed into the collection of the Marchese Pallavicini, and purchased by William Cavendish IV Duke of Devonshire in the 700th century: today the canvas, replicated in several versions both by the artist himself and by his flourishing workshop, is preserved at the Devonshire Collection in Chatsworth, England. The scene is set in a wooded, shady landscape, illuminated by a cold light that highlights the figures in the foreground. In the center, Diana stands majestically in a dominant pose, wrapped only in a pinkish-purple drapery that partially covers her naked body, leaving her breast exposed, with her right arm outstretched pointing into the distance. Around her, the nymphs are portrayed in various resting poses, some sitting at the water's edge, while one immersed in the foreground with her gaze fixed on the viewer, all with voluptuous bodies and minimal drapery. Attention is clearly focused on the figures' reaction to an external presence that breaks into their tranquility: on the right, in fact, in the distance, a running male figure can be seen, probably Actaeon, who had dared to spy on the goddess and her companions. The protagonists react with surprise and alarm, in particular a girl on the right, portrayed from behind, who seems to flee or react with dismay, accentuating the drama of the episode. From a formal and stylistic point of view, the canvas presented here can be attributed to a pupil gravitating around the Marattesque workshop, Agostino Masucci (Rome, ca. – 1758), a prominent painter in the Roman art scene of the eighteenth century. Born in Rome around 1691, he was introduced to painting first as an apprentice to Andrea Procaccini (1671 – 1734), although the crucial moment for his training was his entry into the workshop of the great master Carlo Maratta (1625-1713), an artist who dominated Roman painting between the second half of the seventeenth century and the beginning of the eighteenth century and who embodied the point of reference for the classicist academicism of the time, as well as the heir of the classicist pictorial tradition, based on drawing, composure and the “bella maniera”. Masucci, in fact, inherited this approach from his illustrious master, which led him to be considered a typical representative of the Arcadian-style academicism of 18th-century Roman painting, characterised by formal elegance, compositional grace and a tendency towards themes often linked to poetry and mythology, in line with the taste of the Arcadian Academy. Masucci not only absorbed the master's style, but also established himself independently, obtaining important institutional recognition: in 1724 he joined the Accademia di San Luca, reaching the pinnacle of his academic career with his election as Prince of the institution in the two-year period 1736-1738. Thanks also to important friendships forged over the years, such as those with architects Filippo Juvarra and Luigi Vanvitelli, Masucci obtained important commissions not only in the capital, but also abroad, working for important figures such as the House of Savoy and John V of Portugal, for whom he created the altarpiece of the high altar of the Cathedral of Évora. He also made the models of the three main panels of the mosaic in the Chapel of St. John the Baptist, which was designed by Vanvitelli together with Nicola Salvi for King John V. Shipped to Lisbon in 1747, the mosaic was completed in 1750. For the royal family of Savoy he painted a series of historical canvases with the help of Giovanni Battista Pittoni, Sebastiano Conca and Francesco Monti. Most of his works are now found in Roman churches, including Santa Maria in Via Lata, San Francesco di Paola, San Marcello al Corso, Santissimo Nome di Maria and Santa Maria Maggiore. The execution of the altarpiece with the Virgin and Saints Augustine, Nicholas of Tolentino and Monica in S. Maria del Popolo in Rome. He died in Rome in 1758.

Based on stylistic and iconographic comparisons between our artist's works and those of his master, it emerges that Agostino Masucci was not only a continuator of Carlo Maratta's legacy, but also a crucial link between the Baroque classicism of the 17th century and the new Arcadian and pre-Neoclassical taste of the 18th century. Among his students were Stefano Pozzi and, in particular, Pompeo Batoni, who would become one of the leading exponents of Neoclassicism.

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