Danza degli Amorini
Technical Details
-
Title
Danza degli Amorini -
Author
Francesco Albani -
Year
1622 – 3 -
Inventory
301
Francesco Albani’s Danza degli amorini is an oil painting on copper executed on a single large plate measuring about one meter by one meter still set in the beautiful original frame (fig.1).
The work, which can currently be seen in the first rack of the storage room in Room XXIII, has always enjoyed extraordinary critical and public acclaim to the point of being replicated several times.
The restoration, completed in 2010, restored the colors to their original brilliance (figs.2-3), which was particularly enhanced by the copper support, and made it possible to fully appreciate the refined layout: the nuptial subject unites the various scenes; the cupids, having laid down their bows, play happily (fig.4 ) because they have fulfilled the mission assigned to them by Cupid: Pluto has fallen in love with Proserpine and kidnaps her as a sign of incoercible love (fig.5); Venus rewards Cupid with a grateful kiss (fig.6); the temple of Vesta, where the hearth is always lit, wishes the durability of love.
The painting must therefore have been commissioned on the occasion of a wedding or wedding vows. The precious frame, decorated with lilies, premises the commissioning of the work within the Farnese family.
The copper plate is inserted inside, lying on a polycarbonate frame, custom-made to avoid bending phenomena (fig.7).
Top right, detail of the dance of the cupids after restoration (fig. 4).
Bottom left, detail with the abduction of Proserpine after restoration (fig. 5).
Bottom right, detail of Venus and Cupid after restoration (fig. 6).
