Pier Francesco Mola (1612 – 1666), Circle of - Rinaldo e Armida

Scope of PIER FRANCESCO MOLA (Colds -erio, 1612 – Rome, 1666) Rinaldo and Armida Oil on canvas, 74.5 x 99 cm Frame size, approx. 87 x 112 x 6 cm NOTE: Publication catalog of the Intermidiart collection works. Guarantee Certificate and Legitimate Provenance. Painting with an antique gilded wooden frame (defects): This valuable canvas, depicting one of the most lyrical and fortunate episodes of Torquato Tasso's Gerusalemme liberata, fits with absolute formal coherence into the rich panorama of Roman Baroque painting in the mid-seventeenth century. Historically and critically, the provenance of the work is significant: within the original collection, in fact, the painting was traditionally attributed to the direct autographic hand of Pier Francesco Mola. This old memory of the inventory finds solid justification in the overall design of the composition and, in particular, in the sensibility with which the landscape is orchestrated, dominated by crepuscular atmospheres and a vibrant Neo-Venetian line. Although critical caution today suggests placing the execution within his close circle, the canvas fully absorbs the expressive peaks and the stylistic legacy of the Ticinese master. Pier Francesco Mola holds a position of utmost prominence in seventeenth-century Roman painting. Trained between Bologna—where he assimilated the classicism of Francesco Albani and the Carracci—and Venice, the painter managed to infuse into the rigor of Roman drawing a remarkable chromatic freedom and a “palette” painting learned in the lagoon. Settling in Rome from 1647, Mola became famous for his mythological and biblical compositions set in idyllic and elegiac landscapes, not far from the meditations of Nicolas Poussin. His language, able to fuse pastoral grace with a deep sense of lyrical melancholy, earned him in 1662 the title of Prince of the Accademia di San Luca, venerating him among the great protagonists of the era. The painting masterfully translates the verses of Canto XIV of the Tasso poem, capturing the moment when the enchantress Armida, initially moved by vengeful intents against the Christian hero Rinaldo, yields to the beauty of the sleeping warrior. The sinuous arrangement of the bodies and the soft handling of light and shade describe Rinaldo’s languid surrender, stripped of weapons, and Armida’s protective gesture, while a small winged amor intervenes between them as an explicit iconographic key to the ongoing love enchantment. In the background, a wooded and hilly landscape opens toward a sky streaked with dense clouds and silver flashes, while in the distance the tiny figures of the comrades-in-arms appear, having arrived to break the spell. The whole scene lives in that happy synthesis between Baroque theater and Arcadian intimacy that constitutes the most authentic signature of the Mola circle. FACILY REPORT The painting shows a good state of conservation, compatible with the age and conservation history of the work. A visual analysis notes the following technical specifications: • SUPPORT AND SURFACE: The work shows an old lining intervention aimed at consolidating the original support. The painted surface is overall stable, with widespread natural craquelure due to aging that affects the entire canvas, with no flaking of the paint layer. • PAINT LAYER AND RESTORATION: The natural-light examination reveals a legible chromatic lay-in, preserving the effectiveness of the original chiaroscuro contrasts. Small and targeted interventions of previous restorations are recorded (mostly integrative restorations and small corrective painting) localized on the background landscape and along the edges of the canvas, aimed at filling old and marginal losses of color. The painting is mounted in an antique carved and gilded wooden frame from a later period (18th-19th century), which is structurally sound and with a homogeneous superficial patina (frame size 87 x 112 x 6 cm, presence of defects). "The frame shown in the photos above was added to the artwork by the seller or a third party. The frame is supplied at no additional cost so that it is ready to display as soon as it arrives. The frame is included as a courtesy and is not considered an integral part of the artwork. Therefore, any potential damage to the frame that does not affect the artwork itself will not be accepted as a valid reason to open a claim or request order cancellation." Provenance: Collection Publication: - The Myths and the Territory in Sicily from a Thousand Cultures. UNPUBLISHED QUADRERIA general catalog of the paintings of the cycle 'The Myths and the Territory', 2026 (Pdf). The work will be shipped – being of medium size – with a wooden crate and polystyrene. In case of sale outside the Italian territory, the buyer must wait for the export procedures to be completed.

估價:$3,473.37

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