The Descent of Aeneas in the Elysian Fields

oil on canvas

with frame in lacquered and gilded wood

91 x 128 cm.

with frame 110 x 148 cm.

The large painting proposed depicts an episode from Virgil's Aeneid, the epic story of the warrior of Troy, Aeneas, whose descendants later founded Rome. We see precisely 'The descent of Aeneas into the Elysian Fields', a place where heroic and virtuous souls resided in Greek and Roman mythology who will then be reborn, presented here with a sumptuous and lively image, of great theatrical and extremely engaging effect.

The work re-proposes the wonderful composition that Sebastiano Conca (1680 - 1764) created specifically for the English nobleman Thomas Coke, first Earl of Leicester (1697-1759), when the young nobleman went to Rome when he was just fifteen to undertake the canonical Grand Tour. .

The work is still part of the Earl of Leicester's collection and is kept in Holkham Hall, at the family's original 18th century Palladian-style residence in Norfolk, England (https://www.holkham.co.uk/blog/post/macs-five-favourite-holkham-treasures)).  [1]

The painting was so successful that many collectors of the time commissioned their own version; In this regard, some works created directly by the master are known (Ringling Museum in Florida, Uffizi Gallery in Florence, Palazzo Spini Feroni in Florence) while others were entrusted to the students of the workshop, such as the one we are pleased to offer you.

After a solid training in Naples, at the school of Francesco Solimena, Conca achieved success with his transfer to Rome in 1706 at the workshop of Carlo Maratta. Here he began to turn to an international clientele, taking advantage of the continuous passage to Rome of collectors and intermediaries from all over Europe who appreciated his highly decorative Rococo style, just like the young Earl of Leicester in "Aeneas descending into the Elysian Fields" he even asked Conca to insert his own portrait into the features of Orpheus, the lyre player, on the left of the painting.

In the episode depicted, taken from the sixth book, Conca managed to transform the austere episode narrated by Virgil into an Arcadian fable.

The scene, lively and full of characters, sees Aeneas, son of Aphrodite and prince of Troy, at the center of the composition that arrives in the Elysian Fields, a place of bliss surrounded by kings and heroes, led by the Cumaean Sibyl.

Here he meets his father Anchises, depicted next to him, who prophesies the greatness that Rome will enjoy, personified by the goddess Cybele on a chariot drawn by lions. Alongside him the future Roman leaders, including the emperor Augustus, on horseback, Marcellus and Numa Pompilius, the Roman legislator.

In the lower part you can see Ceres, maternal goddess of the earth and fertility, and also goddess of birth, since all flowers, fruit and living beings were considered her gifts. Next to her, on the right, the divinity of the Tiber river with an overturned jar from which water comes out as a symbol of the abundance of nature.

Finally, in the upper part Venus, the mother of Aeneas, is sitting on her chariot with Cupid intent on playing with the pair of doves and Mercury characterized by the winged helmet.

The work is in good condition and complete with an antique lacquered wooden frame with a golden palmette profile.

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