Diana and Callisto by Pietro Paolo Bonzi
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Bonzi's figure paintings garnered much admiration for their artistic versitility
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- A highly rare and important early Italian Baroque-era painting by Pietro Paolo Bonzi
- Executed circa 1616-17, the work reflects Bonzi's classical Renaissance training
- The artist was a main figure in the famed Carracci circle of artists
- Paintings from such an early era are incredibly rare and highly desirable to collectors
- Oil on copper plate
- Plate: 16 1/2" high x 11 7/8" wide; Frame: 24 1/4" high x 19 3/4" wide
Item Details
- Width:
P: 11 7/8 F: 19 3/4 Inches - Height:
P: 16 1/2 F: 24 1/4 Inches - Period:
Old Masters - Origin:
Other Europe - Subject:
Miscellaneous - Artist:
Bonzi, Pietro Paolo
Pietro Paolo Bonzi
1576-1636 · Italian
Diana and Callisto
Circa 1616-17
Oil on copper plate
An incredible early 17th-century composition by Italian painter Pietro Paolo Bonzi (Ponzi) depicting the mythological tale of Diana and Callisto. Important paintings by old masters hardly ever come available for acquisition. Truly, Diana and her Nymphs is one of those cherished rarities. Through his rich color palette, the artist renders the most dramatic moment in the legend, Callisto's expulsion by the angered Diana, demonstrating his incredible skills as an artist of the Renaissance.
Pietro Paolo Bonzi was born in Cortona, Italy the son of a carpenter. Due to a physical deformity (he was referred to as "il gobbo" or "the hunchback" throughout his life) he was apprenticed to an artist at an early age, as it was obvious he would not be able to follow in his father's footsteps. In the mid-1590s, Bonzi moved to Rome to study with Giovanni Battista Viola of the famed Accademia dei Carracci, the first organized school of artistic training of its kind. Bonzi was among the Academy's star members.
Bonzi became renowned for his still-lifes and landscapes, but it was through his figure paintings, such as the current example, that garnered the most admiration for their artistic versatility. During his career, the artist enjoyed numerous prestigious commissions. Through official inventories, Bonzi's works were part of the prominent Giustiniani family collection (1638) and the Principe Lorenzo Onofrio Colonna's collection (1670). His body of works also included the public frescos at the Palasso Mattei di Giove and Palasso Pallavicini-Rospigliosi, two legendary palaces in Rome legendary for the artworks and frescos still visible there.
This painting portrays the moment in which the goddess Diana discovers that her maid Callisto has become pregnant by Jupiter. Jupiter took the form of Diana, in order to evade his wife Juno's detection, and forced himself upon Callisto while she was separated from Diana and the other nymphs. Callisto's pregnancy was discovered some months later while bathing with Diana and her fellow nymphs. The enraged Diana expelled Callisto from the group for no longer being a virgin, and subsequently she gave birth to her son Arcas. Juno saw the opportunity to avenge her wounded pride by transforming Callisto into a bear. Sixteen years later the metamorphisized nymph encountered her son Arcas hunting in the forest. Just before Arcas was about to kill his own mother with his javelin, Jupiter averted the tragedy by placing mother and son amongst the stars as Ursa Major and Ursa Minor, respectively. Juno, enraged that her attempt at revenge had been thwarted, appealed to the god Oceanus that the two might never meet his waters, thus providing a poetic explanation for their circumpolar positions in the heavens.
Plate: 16 1/2" high x 11 7/8" wide
Frame: 24 1/4" high x 19 3/4" wide
Reference:
Dictionnaire des Peintres, Sculpteurs, Dessinateurs et Graveurs, 1976, E. Bénézit
1576-1636 · Italian
Diana and Callisto
Circa 1616-17
Oil on copper plate
An incredible early 17th-century composition by Italian painter Pietro Paolo Bonzi (Ponzi) depicting the mythological tale of Diana and Callisto. Important paintings by old masters hardly ever come available for acquisition. Truly, Diana and her Nymphs is one of those cherished rarities. Through his rich color palette, the artist renders the most dramatic moment in the legend, Callisto's expulsion by the angered Diana, demonstrating his incredible skills as an artist of the Renaissance.
Pietro Paolo Bonzi was born in Cortona, Italy the son of a carpenter. Due to a physical deformity (he was referred to as "il gobbo" or "the hunchback" throughout his life) he was apprenticed to an artist at an early age, as it was obvious he would not be able to follow in his father's footsteps. In the mid-1590s, Bonzi moved to Rome to study with Giovanni Battista Viola of the famed Accademia dei Carracci, the first organized school of artistic training of its kind. Bonzi was among the Academy's star members.
Bonzi became renowned for his still-lifes and landscapes, but it was through his figure paintings, such as the current example, that garnered the most admiration for their artistic versatility. During his career, the artist enjoyed numerous prestigious commissions. Through official inventories, Bonzi's works were part of the prominent Giustiniani family collection (1638) and the Principe Lorenzo Onofrio Colonna's collection (1670). His body of works also included the public frescos at the Palasso Mattei di Giove and Palasso Pallavicini-Rospigliosi, two legendary palaces in Rome legendary for the artworks and frescos still visible there.
This painting portrays the moment in which the goddess Diana discovers that her maid Callisto has become pregnant by Jupiter. Jupiter took the form of Diana, in order to evade his wife Juno's detection, and forced himself upon Callisto while she was separated from Diana and the other nymphs. Callisto's pregnancy was discovered some months later while bathing with Diana and her fellow nymphs. The enraged Diana expelled Callisto from the group for no longer being a virgin, and subsequently she gave birth to her son Arcas. Juno saw the opportunity to avenge her wounded pride by transforming Callisto into a bear. Sixteen years later the metamorphisized nymph encountered her son Arcas hunting in the forest. Just before Arcas was about to kill his own mother with his javelin, Jupiter averted the tragedy by placing mother and son amongst the stars as Ursa Major and Ursa Minor, respectively. Juno, enraged that her attempt at revenge had been thwarted, appealed to the god Oceanus that the two might never meet his waters, thus providing a poetic explanation for their circumpolar positions in the heavens.
Plate: 16 1/2" high x 11 7/8" wide
Frame: 24 1/4" high x 19 3/4" wide
Reference:
Dictionnaire des Peintres, Sculpteurs, Dessinateurs et Graveurs, 1976, E. Bénézit
