Flemish school; second third of the XVII century.

Flemish school; second third of the XVII century.
"Apollo and Marsias".
Oil on oak panel.
Board reinforced in the center.
It has slight Repainting.
Measurements: 42 x 60,5 cm; 59 x 76 cm (frame).
According to the myth Marsias got a flute, when Athena discarded it. Interested in the instrument, the faun specialized in such a way that he was acclaimed for his great virtuosity. This fame generated a conflict with Apollo, who was considered the god of the arts. For this reason both characters competed; Marsias playing the flute and Apollo the lyre. Having as judges the courtship of both; the satyrs and the nymphs. It is said that despite the great skill of Marsias, Apollo played his instrument upside down and backwards generating harmony in both cases, as Marsias could not achieve this result with the flute lost to Apollo.
The figures that compose the scene have been conceived following the aesthetics of classicism, with a very marked humanist perspective. The harmony of classicism can be appreciated in the attitudes of the characters. This harmony is also reflected in the palette chosen by the painter. During the 17th century there were many painters who continued the style of the Flemish primitives, but others were so open to Renaissance influences that they even stopped painting on panel. This type of compositions were frequent in the Flemish school of the late sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, being especially represented by Gillis van Coninxloo (1544-1607) and his follower Jan Brueghel the Elder (1568-1625). In the seventeenth century we find authors such as Jasper van der Lanen, who developed narratives of sacred themes in lush landscapes with fantastic, almost magical overtones. These are meticulously represented wooded landscapes, which become the real main theme of the paintings, as in these two examples. Van der Lanen developed a style focused on the representation of the landscape, always placing religious or mythological scenes in the foreground. In these paintings, moreover, there is a certain narrative intention that brings the images closer to genre painting.