NICCOLÒ BAMBINI
(Venice, 1651 – 1736)
Venus and Cupid
oil on canvas, cm. 92×113
The protagonists of our painting are Venus and Cupid, respectively identifiable by the pair of white doves accompanying the goddess and the bow, quiver, and wings that characterize the mischievous boy god.
In addition to the two deities seated in the sky, another winged putto can be discerned, partially concealed behind a cloud. This figure is identifiable as Eros, or possibly Anteros, the son of Venus and brother of Cupid.
The style of our painting corresponds to that of the Venetian painter Nicolò Bambini (Venice, 1651 – 1739), who was a renowned decorator of villas and city palaces within and outside the Venetian lagoon.
After training in the workshop of the Florentine painter Sebastiano Mazzoni (Florence, 1611 – Venice, 1678), Bambini moved to Rome, where he was influenced by Carlo Maratta’s school. Furthermore, in the early decades of the 18th century, Bambini nurtured such a profound fascination with the work of Sebastiano Ricci that it sometimes led to attributional confusions between the two artists.
Our painting displays a quality of invention and a stylistic character that mark it as a quintessential work by the artist. The head of the goddess stands as an extraordinary testament to Bambini’s painterly skills, rendered through the luminous clarity of the flesh tones, the golden hair, and the elegant hairstyle, complete with a crown that is convincingly articulated in space thanks to a meticulous study of metallic reflection. Cupid’s features are broader, defined by swift, expressive brushstrokes that characterize his face and evoke the Venetian Baroque tradition, tracing back to the lagoon works of Luca Giordano, who was one of the most influential figures in Bambini’s artistic development. The pronounced classicism evident in this painting suggests a dating within the 18th century, a period during which the artist travelled to Rome and came into contact with the milieu shaped by Carlo Maratta.