Rutilio Manetti
, Italian, 1571-1639
Title
Victorious LoveDatec.1625
MediumOil on canvas
Dimensions
178 x 122 cm
Credit LinePurchased, 1856
Object numberNGI.1235
DescriptionThe theme of this painting is the victory of Cupid over human achievements. The subject originates from some verses by the Latin poet Virgil, entitled Omnia vincit amor. Here, a young Cupid appears ready to strike an unsuspecting victim with his arrows, while he walks indifferently over instruments and books, all symbols of intellectual activity. The allegorical message is clear: no one can resist love. Although a reference to the famous Cupid painted by Caravaggio that inspired many derivations, Manetti shows himself a master of still-life painting, from the armour, artist’s palette and plaster cast of a foot, to open books of mathematics and music. A violin, lute and cittern are also featured. The cheeky expression of the child suggests that the subject matter is to be taken with a touch of humour. Manetti was the most important Sienese painter of the seventeenth century. He had an early Mannerist education but soon became a talented naturalistic artist. He probably travelled to Florence and came into contact with the works of Bartolomeo Manfredi and Gerrit van Honthorst. The possibility of a trip to Rome, which could have happened almost at the same time, should not be excluded. If this was indeed the case, the direct acquaintance with some of the public and private works of Caravaggio would certainly have had a striking effect on him.
March 2016
ProvenanceMonte di Pietà, Rome (as Cupid by Caravaggio); purchased by Mr Robert MacPherson, Rome; purchased, Mr Robert Macpherson, Rome, 1856 Exhibition HistoryL'art et la musique, Galerie des Beaux-Arts, Bordeaux, 1969
I Colori della Musica, Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Antica, Rome, 15 December 2000 - 28 February 2001
Beyond Caravaggio, The Board of Trustees of the National Gallery (UK), London, 12 October 2016 - 15 January 2017: National Galleries of Scotland, Edinburgh, 17 June - 24 September 2017
Label TextManetti was the most important painter of seventeenth-century Siena. He probably stayed in Rome between 1616 and 1621, adopting ideas from various artists, among them Caravaggio and some of his followers, including Gerrit van Honthorst. The subject of this painting is the victory of Cupid over human achievements. It originates from some verses by the Latin poet Virgil entitled Omnia vincit amor. Cupid appears ready to strike an unsuspecting victim with his arrows, while he walks indifferently over instruments and books, all of which are symbols of intellectual activity. The message of Manetti’s painting is that no one can resist love.