Close compositional and stylistic parallels with Pelagio Palagi’s Ariadne leading Theseus out of the Labyrinth (Galleria D'Arte Moderna, Bologna) indicate that the present work may have been painted during his stay in Rome, when he was working on the cycle of Theseus completed in 1813 for the gallery of the Palazzo Torlonia in Piazza Venezia (C. Bernardini, Pelagio Palagi alle collezioni comunali d'arte, Bologna, 2004, p. 51). The artist was not only an accomplished Neoclassical painter but also a sculptor and interior decorator. His background in the decorative arts is evident in the somewhat mannerist treatment of the Neoclassical objects depicted, such as the table base with twisted flutes and the curling acanthus around the throne, and in the careful attention given to the depiction of the ewer, basin and cup.
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The painting presents well overall, the image reads clearly and the paint surface is clean beneath a clear varnish. The canvas has a modern glue relining with a patch on the reverse at center right, attending to a repaired horizontal tear of approx. 4 in. through the shoulder of the female figure, and two smaller areas of reinforcement on the reverse lower left. The paint surface is a little abraded in areas of the background, due in part to the thin application of paint, eg. in the architecture upper right and the still life element center right. There is a minor loss at the lower edge, left of center.
Inspection under UV reveals some further repaired and retouched tears, notably a vertical one of approx. 8 in. in the background at center, another of approx. 12 in. through lower drapery of the female figure and a horizontal one of approx. 6 in. below her waist. There are further areas of minor retouched losses scattered here and there and some strengthening to areas of the male figures’ drapery and the background.
These areas have all been sensitively restored and do not disrupt the image overall. The painting requires no further work and is ready to hang. Offered in a gilt neo-classical style frame with some minor nicks and losses.