A Mythological Subject c.1660-65
Oil on canvas | 118.6 x 151.0 cm (support, canvas/panel/stretcher external) | RCIN 405705
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Amid the clouds, two semi-naked women are entwined. The woman at the left kneels in profile and clasps the arm of the woman on the right, who flings her arms wide, and is richly dressed in blue with ropes of pearls in her hair and around her neck. The subject of the painting in unknown - its meaning was already lost when it was recorded in Consul Joseph Smith's collection in the eighteenth century - but it is likely to be mythological rather than allegorical. Like other works by Liberi in the royal collection, the painting demonstrates the influence of Titian. The pose of the right-hand woman seems to make a conscious reference to Acteon's pose in Titian's depictions of the story of Diana and Acteon (National Gallery, London and National Galleries of Scotland), which was also utilised by Annibale Carracci in his Venus and Adonis (Kunsthistoriches Museum, Vienna).
Cleaned in 1971, the painting is clearly a mature, autograph work of good quality, and possibly dates from the early 1660's. The composition was etched by both Fragonard and Saint-Non.Provenance
Acquired in 1762 by George III from Joseph Smith, British Consul in Venice, as a pair with RCIN 405704, described as 'Graces semi-nudities in clouds' (Italian List nos 274-5); both pictures are recorded in the Great Room of the Library at Buckingham Palace in 1790
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Medium and techniques
Oil on canvas
Measurements
118.6 x 151.0 cm (support, canvas/panel/stretcher external)
140.2 x 173.7 x 8.5 cm (frame, external)
Other number(s)
Alternative title(s)
Nynphs, previously entitled