"Perseus beheads Medusa". Oil on canvas. In the lower left corner inscription in Latin that reads "PERSEUS OCCIDIT COLVBROS FERROQUE MEDUSAM.ISTIUS ABSCISSUM GLORIA MAGNA CAPUT" (Perseus slew the serpents and Medusa with the sword, her head severed with great glory). On the back notarial text, dated June 30, 1977, in which Mr. Juan Eduardo Iriarte Seigne attributes the work to Alonso de Escobar. Old frame with some damage.
The scene is made from the vignette of Ovid''s Metamorphoses by Bernardo Salomón but the author replaces the original background with a palatial garden taken from the plate "April" from "The Twelve Months" by Antonio Tempesta. Medusa lived in a palace on the southwest coast of Spain and it is her garden that Escobar represents in this first work in the series with some southern additions such as flower pots or the rose garden.
This work contains a strong Christian symbolic content identifying Perseus with virtue, Medusa with lust and pride, the sword of Mercury with eloquence, etc.
The work shows how the blood of Medusa when it touches the ground is transformed into coral branches, an allegory of vices whose growth is interrupted by the sun''s rays (virtue). 116 x 164cm
This lot requires export license
PAINTING
Starting price
3.500 €
HAMMER PRICE
8.500 €
duran-app.lot.title_phone_bid
Phone 1:
Phone 2:
Comments:Confirm your maximum bid
At the time of auction we will contact you by phone:
Confirm your maximum bid
Loading…
Conecting with the server
Are you sure you want to buy the lot?
Durán Sala de Arte 2024
Confirm your maximum bid
Bizum