Venus with three cherubs, Federico Cervelli (Milan, 1625 – Venice, 1700)

Federico Cervelli (Milan, 1625 – Venice, 1700)

Venus with three cherubs

Oil painting on canvas
59 x 206 cm. – In antique frame (defects) 70 x 218 cm.

FULL DETAILS OF THE PAINTING (CLICK HERE)

A reclining Venus, immortalized in a sinuous and languid pose that highlights her naked body but portrayed with an elegant and composed sensuality: this is the subject of this beautiful allegory of Love.

Alongside the goddess, as per tradition in classical and Renaissance iconography, there are three playful putti, symbolizing love in all its three facets: celestial (spiritual) love, earthly (passionate) love, and that linked to sensitive beauty.

The figures, measured in their gestures and harmonious in their poses, express an ideal of balance, representing the union between ideal beauty, the fecundity of nature, and innocence. The three putti, at once playful and irreverent, depict the impulses and manifestations of amorous affection.

The painting presents a subject typical of the artistic production of the Venetian painting school of the seventeenth century, inspired by the Baroque examples of Pietro Liberi (1605 – 1687) and modulated by the naturalistic and chiaroscuro tones peculiar to the tenebrous current inherited from the Caravaggesque culture of the early seventeenth century.

The pictorial and stylistic characteristics of the painting suggest that its authorship is linked to Federico Cervelli (Milan, ca. 1638 – Venice, post 1694), a leading exponent of the 17th-century Venetian Baroque, highly appreciated by the aristocracy, and boasting numerous commissions from the Medici court.

Cervelli, with his loose and rapid brushstroke and his use of color translated with light and lively pigments, turns out to be one of the main figures of transition between the solemnity of the seventeenth century and the luminous lightness of the eighteenth-century Rococo.

Unlike the more rigid classical tradition, Cervelli introduces a playful and mischievous tone, which we can find here in the lively and almost caricatural expressions of the three putti, who tease each other to attract Venus's attention, transforming the subject into a dynamic and engaging scene.

The theme of putti joking with Venus is common in Federico Cervelli's production, and his ability to "lighten" mythological themes with satirical verve and Venetian grace therefore places him as a key figure in leading Venetian Baroque painting towards the eighteenth century.

As we can find in other very similar compositions by the author, the sinuous pose of the nude Venus is characterized by a very sober sensuality, recalling classical statuary, typically appreciated by the patrons of this period.

The painting is completed by a beautiful antique frame.

Good state of preservation with the presence of restorations on the canvas and on the frame

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

The work is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity and descriptive iconographic card.

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