Italian school, second half of the 17th century

Italian school, second half of the 17th century
"Perseus fighting against Phineus".
Oil on canvas.
Relined.
Measurements: 118 x 158 cm; 125 x 165 cm (frame).

Perseus has been a character profusely represented in the painting of the Baroque, because it allowed the artists to treat a mythological theme impregnating it with dramatism. Along with the scene of Perseus as victor over Medusa, a second episode usually represented was the one that concerns us here: the irruption of Phineus (Andromeda's uncle and his fiancée) at the banquet prior to the wedding of Andromeda to Perseus. The event is narrated by Ovid in book V of the Metamorphoses. Contemporary to the painter we are dealing with, Luca Giordano treated both episodes linked to the feat of Perseus (see "Perseus transforming Phineus and his entourage into stone" preserved in the National Gallery in London, and "Perseus conquering Medusa", in the Prado Museum). Returning to our magnificent painting, we see Perseus raising before the intruders the severed head of the gorgon, whose open mouth and wild eyes contribute to intensify the anguish of the atmosphere. In front of him, Phineus prepares to thrust his spear into the hero's heart, but he will not be able to do so because, as the fallen bodies indicate, he too will soon be turned to stone by the monster's petrifying gaze. The stony anatomies lie on the ground, acquiring the same grayish texture as the human reliefs carved on the stone of the palace. The women (including Andromeda) cover their eyes with agitated gestures. Both sides wear Roman legionary garb. A baroque light twists arms, legs and torsos, highlighting the muscles in tension. Bronze amphorae and large marble veneras decorate the palatial interior. A fallen table and human foreshortenings accentuate the compositional dynamism. The whole is worked with great attention to detail and a taste for narrative, in accordance with the precepts of the Italian baroque school.