"Feast of the Gods" ( Italian: Festino degli dei ) - a painting by the Italian Renaissance artist Giovanni Bellini , written in 1514. This is one of the first mythological paintings of the Venetian school . According to Vasari , a significant part of the landscape on the left and in the center of the canvas was completed by Titian . The canvas is part of a cycle of paintings on mythological themes written for Alfonso I d'Este , the Duke of Ferrara . Located at the National Gallery of Art in Washington .
| ||
| Bellini | ||
| Feast of the gods . 1514 | ||
| Festino degli dei | ||
| Canvas, oil. 170 × 188 cm | ||
| National Gallery of Art , Washington | ||
| ( inv. ) | ||
Content
- 1 History
- 2 Story
- 3 See also
- 4 notes
- 5 Links
History
The painting was intended to decorate the "alabaster cabinet" in Castello Estense - the Ferrara residence of Alfonso I d'Este . The reason for creating a cycle of mythological paintings for this room was probably the wedding of the duke with Lucretia Borgia . The sister of the customer, Isabella d'Este , and a prominent specialist in antiquity, Mario Equicola, took an active part in the project.
After the death of Bellini in 1516, Titian apparently changed the landscape background of the painting so that it would fit his other painting in the collection of the Duke "Bacchanalia" (1518-1523). In 1529, Titian added mountains beyond the figures of the gods.
The painting hung in the Ferrara castle until 1598, when it was taken to Rome by the papal nephew Pietro Aldobrandini . His descendants owned the canvas until the 19th century. After the extinction of the Aldobrandini clan, the possession of their artistic treasures was disputed by Borghese and Colonna ; in the end, the painting passed into the hands of the artist Camuccini , and he sold it to the Duke of Northumberland in 1855 through an intermediary.
The Feast of the Gods adorned Alnwick Castle until 1925, when one of the dukes sold it to the American millionaire Peter Wydener . In 1942, Weiden presented his collection as a gift to the American nation. Since then, the picture hangs in the National Gallery of Art ( Washington ) [2] .
Story
The picture depicts two episodes from Ovid's poem “ Fasts ”: Priapus tried to seduce the sleeping nymph Lotus , but he was prevented by the roaring donkey Silenus . Around the gods are located: Jupiter next to which is an eagle, Poseidon , who caresses Cybele and Ceres , Hermes reclines on a barrel. The boy with the wreath is young Bacchus . It is believed that at first Bellini portrayed mere mortals in the picture, following the erroneous (vulgar) interpretation of Ovid's poem and was forced to later remake them into figures of the gods [3] .
The painting is part of a series of paintings on mythological themes written by Bellini (Adoration of the Gods, 1514) by Titian and Dosso Dossi commissioned by the duke, probably on the recommendation of one of the court scholars. Alfonso I d'Este in 1510 wanted to include the paintings of Michelangelo and Raphael in the palace collection, but both masters did not have time to complete the order.
See also
- Bacchus and Ariadne ( Titian )
- Alfonso I d'Este
Notes
- ↑ 1 2 https://www.nga.gov/collection/art-object-page.1138.html
- ↑ Conisbee, Philip, “The Ones That Got Away”. Saved! 100 Years of the National Art Collection Fund Ed. Richard Verdi. London: Scala, 2003, p. thirty
- ↑ Jaffé, David and Sorcha Carey, "Giovanni Bellini (about 1430-1516), with additions by Titian: The Feast of the Gods ." Titian . Ed. David Jaffé. London: National Gallery Company, 2003, p. 108