Description
Pier Dandini (Florence 1646 – Florence 1712) – Coriolanus Implored by His Mother.
Oil on canvas, unframed.
The painting depicts the celebrated episode from Roman history in which Volumnia, kneeling in the foreground, implores her son Coriolanus to spare Rome. The general, draped in a red cloak and standing in a commanding position, is surrounded by armored soldiers and a group of supplicants. The animated and densely populated composition recalls the conventions of Florentine Baroque painting. The loose brushwork, warm palette dominated by reds and ochres and the assured rendering of physiognomies firmly connect this work to the hand of Pier Dandini, a painter of Marattesque formation active between Florence and the leading Italian courts, known for significant decorative cycles and altarpieces. The synthetic and vigorous pictorial execution is characteristic of a preparatory sketch.
Condition report: Lined canvas. Good overall condition of the pictorial surface, with signs of aging and wear.
