Description
Pietro da Cortona was one of the most successful and active fresco painters in Rome in the mid-1600s. This drawing is a preparatory sheet—highly worked-up with many different mediums—for one of the artist's six frescoes portraying the story of Solomon commissioned by the Roman nobleman Asdrubale Mattei (1556-1638) for the gallery of his Palazzo Mattei di Giove. Reflecting the artist's as well as his patron's interest in classical antiquity, Cortona combined a classical relief-like composition with specific references to Roman objects and architectural elements in the composition. The subject represents a foolish episode from Solomon's life, when he was lured into the worship of idols by the "foreign" women with whom he kept company.
Provenance
Capitaine C. Prayer (1826-1900), Milan (Lugt 2044) (ca. 1900); de Bernasconi family, Buenas Aires (ca. 1900); by descent to Marià Elvira Celia Méndez de Bernasconi (1927-2005), Buenos Aires (Lugt 5374) (?-1987); Christie's London, 1 April 1987, no. 66. (1987); with Kate Ganz, Ltd, London (1987); The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (1987-)
Accession Number
1987.142
Medium
Pen and brown ink, point of brush and black ink, brush and brown wash, and white and blue gouache, framing lines in brown ink
Dimensions
Sheet: 24.8 x 43.3 cm (9 3/4 x 17 1/16 in.); Secondary Support: 25.5 x 44.1 cm (10 1/16 x 17 3/8 in.)
Classification
Drawing
Credit Line
John L. Severance Fund
Tags
Drawing Baroque (1600–1750) Ink Gouache Italian
Background & Context
Background Story
Pietro da Cortona (1596-1669) was an Italian painter and architect known for the dynamically composed, richly colored paintings that make him one of the most important painters of the Italian Baroque. The Idolatry of Solomon from 1622-23 depicts the biblical subject of King Solomon's idolatry in the dynamically composed, richly colored manner that distinguishes Pietro da Cortona's best work from the more general painting of his contemporaries. Pietro da Cortona was one of the founders of the High Baroque style in painting, and his dynamically composed, richly colored paintings represent one of the most important traditions in Italian Baroque painting. The 1622-23 date places this among his early works.
Cultural Impact
The Idolatry of Solomon is important in the history of Italian Baroque painting because it demonstrates the dynamically composed, richly colored manner that Pietro da Cortona—one of the founders of the High Baroque style—brought to biblical subjects. Pietro da Cortona's dynamically composed, richly colored paintings—representing one of the most important traditions in Italian Baroque painting—were enormously influential in the development of the High Baroque style, and the 1622-23 painting shows this tradition at its most dynamically composed.
Why It Matters
The Idolatry of Solomon is Pietro da Cortona's dynamically composed Baroque: the biblical subject of Solomon's idolatry rendered in the richly colored manner of one of the founders of the High Baroque style. The 1622-23 painting shows the dynamic composition and rich color that make Pietro da Cortona one of the most important Italian Baroque painters.
