''Corisca and the Satyr'' was painted in the 1630s by the

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

artist

Artemisia Gentileschi Artemisia Lomi or Artemisia Gentileschi (, ; 8 July 1593) was an Italian Baroque painter. Gentileschi is considered among the most accomplished seventeenth-century artists, initially working in the style of Caravaggio. She was producing profess ...

. It currently hangs in a private collection.

Description

Subject Matter

The story is drawn from the play ''Il Pastor Fido'', by the sixteenth-century Italian poet and writer

Giovanni Battista Guarini Giovanni Battista Guarini (10 December 1538 – 7 October 1612) was an Italian poet, dramatist, and diplomat. Life Guarini was born in Ferrara. On the termination of his studies at the universities of Pisa, Padua and Ferrara, he was appointed pr ...

. The sixth scene of act two sees the

nymph A nymph ( grc, νύμφη, nýmphē, el, script=Latn, nímfi, label=Modern Greek; , ) in ancient Greek folklore is a minor female nature deity. Different from Greek goddesses, nymphs are generally regarded as personifications of nature, are ty ...

Corisca accept gifts of clothing and sandals from a

satyr In Greek mythology, a satyr ( grc-gre, :wikt:σάτυρος, σάτυρος, sátyros, ), also known as a silenus or ''silenos'' ( grc-gre, :wikt:Σειληνός, σειληνός ), is a male List of nature deities, nature spirit with ears ...

. Aroused by Corisca's acceptance of his gifts, the satyr then proceeds to attempt to rape her. He grabs her by the hair, but it turns out to be a false wig, and Corisca can escape, leaving the satyr clutching the hairpiece.

Composition

Two figures, female and male, are shown in a darkened landscape. The women is running towards the left edge of the canvas, wearing a gold-coloured gown and a purple cloak over a white

chemise A chemise or shift is a classic smock, or a modern type of women's undergarment or dress. Historically, a chemise was a simple garment worn next to the skin to protect clothing from sweat and body oils, the precursor to the modern shirts commonl ...

. Her blue sandals contrast with the vibrant colour of her dress. She clutches her hair with her right hand and her skirts with her left, glancing back at the satyr who has fallen back on the ground, holding her hairpiece in his right hand.

Provenance

The painting first surfaced in a private collection in Naples in 1989. It was sold to the present owner in March 1990 at Christie's in Rome, as a work by

Massimo Stanzione Massimo Stanzione (also called Stanzioni; 1585 – 1656) was an Italian Baroque painter, mainly active in Naples, where he and his rival Jusepe de Ribera dominated the painting scene for several decades. He was primarily a painter of altarpiece ...

Attribution

The painting underwent cleaning in the 1990s, when the signature of Gentileschi was revealed on the tree trunk behind the satyr's back. Before this, the painting was attributed to another female artist, Annella de Rosa, as well as Massimo Stanzione. There is now consensus the painting is by Artemisia Gentileschi, executed during her time in Naples.

Interpretation

After the painting was rediscovered in 1989, early interpretation linked the painting's content to Gentileschi's own personal history, connecting Corisca fleeing the satyr to Gentileschi's own rape by Agostino Tassi. More recent interpretations have weakened this link: firstly by showing that contemporary commentary on the story of Corisca and the satyr showed Corisca not as a woman wronged but as a reviled character, "viewed as a manipulative, lustful foil to two other characters in ''Il Pastor Fido''." Garrard however counters that argument by pointing out that the gesture made by Corsica's left hand represents "a sign of folly on its recipient."

References

1630s paintings Paintings by Artemisia Gentileschi {{Artemisia Gentileschi