Friday, November 26, 2021

14 Works, November 26th. is Antonio Carneo's day, his art, illustrated with footnotes #241

Carneo Antonio
Proof of poison, c. 1670-1680
Oil on canvas
175 x 178 cm
Ado Furlan Foundation

Depicting a young man who compresses his bowels in the presence of a group of bystanders who follow his spasms with apprehension or try to help him, it is described ab antiquo with the title with which it is still remembered today. However, since it is difficult to represent a generic poisoning scene (provoked or self-induced), one wonders whether the artist did not want to illustrate a specific character in the episode in question. Among the proposals advanced by scholars, that of the young Mithridates who undergoes the poison test in order to immunize himself remains one of the most plausible. More on this painting

Mithridates VI Eupator of Pontus (b. c. 134 BC) ruled a Black Sea Empire to rival the Roman Republic in a series of wars that lasted decades. As Rome’s most dangerous enemy until his death in 63 BC, Mithridates is recognized as the first experimental toxicologist for his extensive investigations into a vast number of poisons and antidotes. Fearing assassination by poison, he gathered a team of botanists, physicians, and shamans seeking to create a “universal antidote” that would protect him from all poisons. Influenced by traditional theriacs and previous investigators and with access to rich natural resources, Mithridates’ experiments resulted in a formulation of more than 50 ingredients combining animal, plant, and mineral toxins with antidotes. He made himself immune to normally fatal amounts of arsenic and enjoyed robust health until forced to commit suicide in his 70s. Efforts to replicate his famous Mithridatium made his antidote the most popular and long-lived prescription in history. More on Mithridates VI

Antonio Carneo (1637–1692) was an Italian painter, active in Friuli and Venice, and depicting both mythologic, allegoric, and religious canvases, as well as portraits.

Antonio Carneo (1637–1692) (attributed to)
Venus, Vulcan and Cupid
Oil on canvas
H 103.5 x W 139.4 cm
The Bowes Museum

The subject of this painting has not been securely identified. The elderly man could be Vulcan, Venus's husband, to whom she presents her baby son Cupid. The figures of the young woman and the child reveal the influence of Venetian painting. They are represented by means of soft, fluid brushstrokes and a warm, light palette. The naturalism and the contrasting light, which defines the figures of the man and the elderly woman in the background, can be associated with the Caravaggesque tradition, under whose influence Antonio Carneo worked during the years he spent in Udine between 1660 and 1689. More on this painting

He was born in Concordia Sagittaria, and trained under his father as a painter. He was active for many years in Portogruaro. Other sources cite him as a pupil of Giovanni Giuseppe Cosattini (1625-1699) in Udine, but his paintings appear best to model Tintoretto and Paolo Veronese.

Antonio Carneo  (1637–1692)
The Death of Lucretia, c. second half of 17th century
Oil on canvas
Height: 99 cm (38.9 in); Width: 82.5 cm (32.4 in)
National Museum in Warsaw

Lucretia, legendary heroine of ancient Rome. According to tradition, she was the beautiful and virtuous wife of the nobleman Lucius Tarquinius Collatinus. Her tragedy began when she was raped by Sextus Tarquinius, son of Lucius Tarquinius Superbus, the tyrannical Etruscan king of Rome. After exacting an oath of vengeance against the Tarquins from her father and her husband, she stabbed herself to death. Lucius Junius Brutus then led the enraged populace in a rebellion that drove the Tarquins from Rome. The event (traditionally dated 509 BCE) marks the foundation of the Roman Republic. The story is first found in the work of the earliest Roman historian, Fabius Pictor (late 3rd century BCE). Its classic form is Livy’s version (late 1st century BCE). Lucretia’s story is also recounted in Shakespeare’s narrative poem The Rape of Lucrece. More on Lucretia

Antonio Carneo, Concordia Sagittaria, Italy, 1637 - 1692, Portogruaro, Italy
The Death of Rachel
Oil on canvas
81.3 cm x 106.7 cm (32 in. x 42 in.)
Blanton Museum of Art

Genesis 35: The Death of Rachel: Despite God’s admonition to remain at Bethel, a few verses later, Jacob and his entourage are on the move. While still some distance from Ephrath, Rachel goes into labor. This is the first indication that she is pregnant. The text states that the labor is hard; the birth is difficult. The midwife comforts and encourages her by saying she is having a son. The child is born, and with her dying breath, Rachel names him Benoni, which means “son of my misfortune” or “son of my sorrow.” This is the woman who once had said she would die if she didn’t have sons. Now she is dying because she is giving birth to a son. The irony hurts. She lives only long enough to give him a name. More on The Death of Rachel

Antonio Carneo, Concordia Sagittaria, Italy, 1637 - 1692, Portogruaro, Italy
Cleopatra
Oil on canvas
112 × 92 cm
Szépművészeti Múzeum

Cleopatra VII Philopator (69 – August 12, 30 BC), was the last active pharaoh of Ptolemaic Egypt, briefly survived as pharaoh by her son Caesarion. After her reign, Egypt became a province of the recently established Roman Empire.

Cleopatra was a member of the Ptolemaic dynasty, a family of Macedonian Greek origin that ruled Egypt after Alexander the Great's death. The Ptolemies spoke Greek throughout their dynasty, and refused to speak Egyptian, which is the reason that Greek as well as Egyptian languages were used on official court documents such as the Rosetta Stone. By contrast, Cleopatra did learn to speak Egyptian and represented herself as the reincarnation of the Egyptian goddess Isis.

Cleopatra originally ruled jointly with her father Ptolemy XII Auletes, and later with her brothers Ptolemy XIII and Ptolemy XIV, whom she married as per Egyptian custom, but eventually she became sole ruler. As pharaoh, she consummated a liaison with Julius Caesar that solidified her grip on the throne.

After Caesar's assassination in 44 BC, she aligned with Mark Antony in opposition to Caesar's legal heir Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus (later known as Augustus). With Antony, she bore the twins Cleopatra Selene II and Alexander Helio. Antony committed suicide after losing the Battle of Actium to Octavian's forces, and Cleopatra followed suit. According to tradition, she killed herself by means of an asp bite on August 12, 30 BC. More on Cleopatra

Circle of Antonio Carneo Concordia Sagittaria 1637-1692 Portogruaro
Rebecca at the Well
Oil on canvas
29¼ x 41¾ in. 74.3 x 108.6 cm.
Private collection

Abraham went about finding a wife for his son Isaac. He commanded his servant to journey to his birthplace of Aram Naharaim to select a bride from his own family, rather than engage Isaac to a local Canaanite girl. Abraham sent along expensive jewelry, clothing and dainties as gifts to the bride and her family. 

The servant devised a test in order to find the right wife for Isaac. As he stood at the central well in Abraham's birthplace with his men and ten camels laden with goods, he prayed to God: "And let it come to pass, that the damsel to whom I shall say, Let down thy pitcher, I pray thee, that I may drink; and she shall say, Drink, and I will give thy camels drink also" — Genesis 24:14

To his surprise, a young girl immediately came out and offered to draw water for him to drink, as well as water to fill the troughs for all his camels. Rebecca continued to draw water until all the camels were sated, proving her kind and generous nature and her suitability for entering Abraham's household. The servant immediately gave her a golden nose ring and two golden bracelets. After hosting the party overnight, however, the family tried to keep Rebecca with them longer. The servant insisted that they ask the girl herself, and she agreed to go immediately.

As Rebecca and her entourage approached Abraham's home, they spied Isaac from a distance in the fields praying. Seeing such a spiritually exalted man, Rebecca immediately dismounted from her camel and asked the accompanying servant who he was. When she heard that this was her future husband, she modestly covered herself with a veil. Isaac brought her into the tent of his mother Sarah, married her, and loved her. More on Rebecca

Attributed to Antonio Carneo (1637 Concordia Sagittaria - 1692 Portogruaro)
Rebecca and Eliezer at the Well
Oil on canvas
75 x 95 cm
Private collection

Circle of Antonio Carneo Concordia Sagittaria 1637-1692 Portogruaro
Samson and Delilah
Oil on canvas
120.5 by 93.5 cm.; 47 1/2 by 36 3/4 in.
Private collection

Samson  is one of the last of the judges of the ancient Israelites mentioned in the Hebrew Bible. According to the biblical account, Samson was given supernatural strength by God in order to combat his enemies and perform heroic feats. Samson had two vulnerabilities—his attraction to untrustworthy women and his hair, without which he was powerless. These vulnerabilities ultimately proved fatal for him.
 
Samson eventually fell in love with a woman named Delilah. The Philistines bribed Delilah with 1,100 silver pieces from each of the Philistine leaders, to get her to figure out the secret of Samson's strength and tell them. 
 
After asking him several times what the secret to his strength is: "Finally he disclosed to her all his heart and said to her: 'A razor has never come upon my head, because I am a Naz′i·rite of God from my mother’s belly. If I did get shaved, my power also would certainly depart from me, and I should indeed grow weak and become like all other men.'" 
 
She relayed this to the Philistine axis lords, got Samson to fall asleep, and while he was sleeping, had his head shaved. The Philistines then took him captive, put out both his eyes, and made him their slave. 
 
One day as they are having a great party to worship their false god Dagon, the Philistines bring Samson out so they can make fun of him. By that time, Samson's hair has grown out again. Samson has a young boy lead him to the pillars that hold the building up, prays to Jehovah for strength, takes hold of the pillars, and cries out: "Let my soul die with the Philistines."
 
There are 3,000 Philistines on the roof of the building alone, and many more inside (the axis lords are all there as well), and when Samson pushes against the pillars, the building falls down and kills all of them, including Samson. More Samson

Antonio Carneo, Concordia Sagittaria, Italy, 1637 - 1692, Portogruaro, Italy
The Holy Family
Oil on canvas
79 x 75 cm
Private collection

The Holy Family consists of the Child Jesus, the Virgin Mary, and Saint Joseph. Veneration of the Holy Family was formally begun in the 17th century by Saint François de Laval, the first bishop of New France, who founded a Confraternity.

Matthew and Luke narrate the episodes from this period of Christ's life, namely his Circumcision and later Presentation, the Flight to Egypt, the return to Nazareth, and the Finding in the Temple.[Joseph and Mary were apparently observant Jews, as Luke narrates that they brought Jesus with them on the annual pilgrimage to Jerusalem with other Jewish families. More on The Holy Family

Antonio Carneo, Concordia Sagittaria, Italy, 1637 - 1692, Portogruaro, Italy
Christ and the Adulteress
oil on canvas
115.5 x 147.5 cm
Private collection

In the passage, Jesus was teaching in the Second Temple after coming from the Mount of Olives. A group of scribes and Pharisees confronts Jesus, interrupting his teaching. They bring in a woman, accusing her of committing adultery, claiming she was caught in the very act. They tell Jesus that the punishment for someone like her should be stoning, as prescribed by Mosaic Law.[1] Jesus begins to write something on the ground using his finger. But when the woman's accusers continue their challenge, he states that the one who is without sin is the one who should cast the first stone at her. The accusers and congregants depart, realizing not one of them is without sin either, leaving Jesus alone with the woman. Jesus asks the woman if anyone has condemned her and she answers no. Jesus says that he, too, does not condemn her, and tells her to go and sin no more. More on Christ and the Adulteress

Antonio Carneo, Concordia Sagittaria, Italy, 1637 - 1692, Portogruaro, Italy
Dead Christ held by two angels
Oil on canvas
110 x 94 cm. (43¼ x 37 in.)
Private collection

Antonio Carneo, Concordia Sagittaria, Italy, 1637 - 1692, Portogruaro, Italy
The Martyrdom of Saint Sebastian
With Saint Roch and an Angel in the background,
Oil on canvas
171.5 x 114.5 cm, 
Private collection

Saint Sebastian (died c. 288 AD) was an early Christian saint and martyr. Sebastian had prudently concealed his faith, but in 286 was detected. Diocletian reproached him for his betrayal, and he commanded him to be led to a field and there to be bound to a stake so that archers from Mauritania would shoot arrows at him. "And the archers shot at him till he was as full of arrows as an urchin is full of pricks, and thus left him there for dead." Miraculously, the arrows did not kill him.

Sebastian later stood by a staircase where the emperor was to pass and harangued Diocletian for his cruelties against Christians. This freedom of speech, and from a person whom he supposed to have been dead, greatly astonished the emperor; but, recovering from his surprise, he gave orders for his being seized and beat to death with cudgels, and his body thrown into the common sewer. A pious lady, called Lucina, admonished by the martyr in a vision, got it privately removed, and buried it in the catacombs at the entrance of the cemetery of Calixtus, where now stands the Basilica of St. Sebastian. More St. Sebastian

The present painting relates to a panel of the Averoldi Altarpiece by Titian from the 1520s in the Collegiata dei Santi Nazaro e Celso in Brescia. The figure of Saint Sebastian is reproduced fairly accurately, but in the rendering of the landscape there are differences from Titian’s original. More on this painting

Antonio Carneo
Episode from the life of Sant Antonio Abate
Oil on canvas, unframed
202 x 221 cm.
Private collection

Antonio abate is one of the most illustrious hermits in the history of the Church. Born in Coma, in the heart of Egypt, around 250, at the age of twenty he abandoned everything to live first in a deserted land and then on the shores of the Red Sea, where he led an anacoretic life for more than 80 years: he died, in fact, over a hundred years old in 356. Already in his life, pilgrims and needy people from all over the East flocked to him, attracted by the fame of holiness. Constantine and his sons also sought his advice. His story is told by a disciple, Saint Athanasius, who helped to make his example known throughout the Church. More on Antonio abate

He worked in eastern Veneto and Friuli , especially in Udine , where he was hosted for more than twenty years by Count Leonardo and Giovanni Battista Caiselli and for which he created numerous paintings. According to Guarienti's testimony, though his father was his first teacher, he would  later perfected himself in the diligent study of Venetian masters in the sixteenth century. An admirer of Flemish models, their "darkness" and their naturalistic accents, and the works of Bernardo Strozzi and Luca Giordano , he was appreciated for the natural chromaticism of the paintings. Its for the mix of realistic figurative patterns and rustic tastes, for the swirling and imaginative butterfly penetration.

Antonio Carneo
The Temperance
Oil on canvas
cm 73x61
Private collection
Temperance (XIV) is the fourteenth trump or Major Arcana card in most traditional Tarot decks. It is used in game playing as well as in divination.

Temperance (Italian: La Temperanza) appears in the oldest Italian decks where it is numbered VI or VII. In the Tarot de Marseille and in most contemporary decks the card is numbered XIV. In the Thoth Tarot and decks influenced by it, this card is called Art rather than Temperance.

A woman mixing water into wine was a standard allegory of Temperance in European iconography. 

Temperance is almost invariably depicted as a person pouring liquid from one receptacle into another. Historically, this was a standard symbol of the virtue temperance, one of the cardinal virtues, representing the dilution of wine with water. In many decks, the person is a winged angel, usually female or androgynous, and stands with one foot on water and one foot on land. More on The Temperance 

In Portogruaro, he painted an altarpiece depicting the Charity of St Thomas of Villanova for the church of Santa Lucia. In the town castle chapel, he painted a Christ and saints. For the other rooms he painted the Redeemer with St Marck and donors and a St Peter Martyr. He painted a Last Supper for the town convent. For the church of San Rocco, he painted the main altarpiece depicting St Francis and companions. In 1604, he painted four altarpieces for the church of San Francesco.

There was another painter Giacomo Carneo subsequently active in Friuli. More on Antonio Carneo




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03 Works, August 12th. is Abbott Handerson Thayer's day, his story, illustrated with footnotes

Abbott Handerson Thayer Stevenson Memorial, c. 1903 Oil on canvas 81 5⁄8 x 60 1⁄8 in. (207.2 x 152.6 cm) Smithsonian American Art Museum Abb...