Pictures of the Month | April 2008
Picture of the Month
April 2008
The Three Fates [c.1670]
by Sebastiano Mazzoni
Sebastiano Mazzoni (1611–78) was one of the most individual Italian painters of the seventeenth century. While we do not know a great deal about his life, Mazzoni’s work is fascinating evidence of his innovative and charismatic approach to art. He trained in Florence but always had a great interest in the art of Venice, first visiting the city in the 1630s and moving there permanently in the 1640s. Here, he cultivated a fantastical and extravagant style, which combines all the drama and passion of the Baroque, anticipating the theatricality of the eighteenth-century Venetian artists.
The original purpose of this extraordinary work is unknown but it was undoubtedly a highly important and deeply personal project. Dating from about 1670, it is one of Mazzoni’s most dramatic compositions, showing the flickering brushwork, brilliant lighting and vibrant palette of his later work. The theme of the Three Fates is taken from Greek and Roman mythology, in which it was believed that spiritual beings controlled man’s destiny and the length of mortal lives. Here we can see Clotho, who spins the thread of life from a golden whorl that hovers over her shoulder; next, Lachesis twists and measures the length of thread playfully between her fingers; below, Atropos lies languidly as she decides where to cut the cord.
The Three Fates are usually depicted as ugly old women, but Mazzoni has represented them as lusciously sensual young females, who gracefully spiral around the central line. A lyrical and dreamy mood pervades the scene as reflected by the wispy clouds, swishing drapery and curvacious floating forms. The unavoidable reality of our mortality, however, underlies the subject, with the writhing serpent symbolising evil and the broken column on the left traditionally associated with fate and sudden death.
Mazzoni’s painting is the inspiration behind Fates, an exhibition by the contemporary sculptor Katherine Waters, which is in the Education Gallery at the Barber until 11 May.
A 15-minute gallery talk focusing on this picture and exhibition will be held in the Galleries on Thursday 10 April at 1.30pm.
| What is your favourite work of art in the Barber Institute galleries? Drop us a line at info@barber.org.uk and let us know, and we could feature your choice in a future Picture of the Month. |