Description
In this second of the four large paintings from Giovanni Battista Tiepolo’s sequence illustrating the story of the crusader Rinaldo and the sorceress Armida, Armida has abducted Rinaldo and carried him away to her magical garden. She looks into a magic mirror while the knight sits enthralled, gazing into her eyes, his sword and shield cast aside. Meanwhile, Rinaldo’s two companions, Carlo and Ubaldo, appear at the garden gate to persuade him to return to their quest to seize control of Jerusalem.
Provenance
Possibly one of four scenes from Tasso made for the 'gabinetto degli specchi' of the Palazzo Corner a San Polo, Venice [according to inventories and other documents discussed by Romanelli 1998]. Count Giovanni Serbelloni, Venice in 1838; by descent, until possibly 1886 [Molmenti 1911 and Knox 1978]. Giulio Cartier, Genoa by 1908 [Malaquzzi Valeri 1908]; Sedelmeyer Gallery, Paris, in 1912 [Ojetti 1912]; James Deering (d. 1925), Vizcaya, from 1913 [information sheet in curatorial file]; bequeathed,1925.
Accession Number
16485
Medium
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
186.7 × 259.4 cm (73 1/2 × 102 1/8 in.); Framed: 194.3 × 270.5 × 7.9 cm (76 1/2 × 106 1/2 × 3 1/8 in.)
Classification
oil on canvas
Credit Line
Bequest of James Deering
