The Dance of the Cupids

Oil on panel

94 x 118 cm

in a fine gilded and carved wooden frame 101 x 123 cm.

We see a festive dance of cherubs arranged in a circle around a tree, on which other cherubs play musical instruments, while in the foreground there are other objects, including bows and quivers, laid on the grass. In the background on the left, we see the scene of a woman being kidnapped and dragged onto a chariot: this is precisely the abduction of Proserpina by Pluto who, madly in love, took her with him to the underworld to make her his bride. On the right, among the clouds, Venus kisses Cupid with a torch, while below is the temple of Vesta, which still exists today in Rome, where the sacred fire was once kept.

The painting is an interesting ancient replica of the masterpiece by Francesco Albani, entitled “Danza degli amorini” (Dance of the Cupids), which dates back to around 1660 and is currently housed in the Pinacoteca di Brera in Milan.

Known for his light and decorative representations of mythological and allegorical subjects, Francesco Albani is considered, together with Domenichino and Guido Reni, one of the leading exponents of Bolognese classicism and was therefore in great demand among the cultured patrons of the time.

Thanks to a style characterised by idyllic compositions that appealed to the most intimate tastes of his patrons, works such as these have always enjoyed extraordinary critical and public acclaim, to the point of being replicated several times.

The subject depicted was also in great demand in later periods due to its symbolic meaning of the triumph of Love: the painting is in fact an interesting allegory of marital union and must therefore have been commissioned within the Farnese family on the occasion of a wedding or a betrothal.

This is referred to by the cherubs who, having laid down the bows with which they make lovers fall in love, play happily because they have accomplished the mission assigned to them by Cupid: Pluto has fallen in love with Proserpina and kidnaps her as a sign of his uncontrollable love. Finally, Venus rewards Cupid with a grateful kiss, while the temple of Vesta, where the hearth is always lit, wishes for the durability of love.