THE TRIUMPH OF THE GALATEA.
Domenico Zampieri, better known by the name of Domenichino, ranks among the most illustrious of the old Bolognese painters, and has always been considered the most distinguished pupil of the school of the Carraci, where he had Guido and Albano for fellow-students. Domenichino’s picture ‘The Communion of St. Jerome,’ painted for the principal altar of St. Girolamo della Carita, but now in the Vatican, is regarded as the finest painting in Rome after Raffaelle’s ‘Transfiguration.’ Its celebrity caused it to be one of the first objects of spoliation when the French invaded Italy; it was carried away and placed in the Louvre, but restored after peace was proclaimed throughout Europe.
Domenichino painted comparatively few subjects like that engraved here; his pictures are chiefly from sacred or ecclesiastical history. Of those illustrating fabulous incidents from Greek and Roman writers may by pointed out as of high reputation his ‘Chase of Diana,’ in the Borghese Palace, and his ‘Death of Adonis bewailed by Venus,’ in the Durazzo Gallery. Scarcely, if at all, less meritorious that these is ‘The Triumph of Galatea,’ which was formerly in the famous Aguado collection, in Paris: we can find no record of its date or previous history, but the grace and beauty of the composition testify to its being the work of a great master. Seated in a huge shell, which serves for a chariot, and is borne on the backs of dolphins, is the sea-nymph, daughter of Nereus and Doris, who is reported to have rejected the overtures of the Cyclops Polyphemus for those of the Sicilian shepherd Acis; the result of which was that the fortunate lover had his head broken by the Cyclopes, who threw a piece of rock at him. Galatea, however, as we see her here, is not mourning the loss of Acis, but is riding proudly and joyously on the ocean, surrounded by mermaids and winged Cupids, and heralded by a merman blowing a conch.
A remarkable feature in many of the pictures by Domenichino is the elegant manner in which he introduces the accessories of the subject, such as the little angels, or cherubs, or cupids, whichever they may be, and also the beauty of their features. Note, too, the easy way in which some of those winged playthings are holding up the mass of drapery, so as to form a canopy for the nymph, while another little fellow, astride on the head of a dolphin, is urging it onwards by pricking it with an arrow. The scene is expressively joyous, and full of life and freshness. In the background is a presumed view of Sicily, the abode of the Cyclops, with Aetna pouring out a flame of fire.
IMPORTANT TO NOTE
Antique prints, etchings, engravings, and lithographs are printing processes which use steel, copper, stone or wood blocks or plates to produce a picture on paper.
Most antique prints and engravings, which are seen on the internet today, are bookplates. Because they are pages from a book, there are multiple copies in existence. This does not, however, mean that they are "reproductions" that have been printed recently. Because they were, at some point, part of books, some have been preserved in excellent condition, while others show signs of age, as yellow spots or darkness on the edge of the page from being handled.
Engravings, lithographs, ect. are high quality pieces of art, as it took a highly trained artist many hours of work to produce one. Although there may be multiple copies still in existence, the date of the item should be stated in the auction, thus giving the buyer an idea of it's age.
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