''Roger Freeing Angelica'' is an oil painting executed in 1873 by Swiss symbolist painter

Arnold Böcklin Arnold Böcklin (16 October 182716 January 1901) was a Swiss symbolist painter. Biography He was born in Basel. His father, Christian Frederick Böcklin (b. 1802), was descended from an old family of Schaffhausen, and engaged in the silk tra ...

. The painting illustrates a scene from Ariosto's epic ''

Orlando Furioso ''Orlando furioso'' (; ''The Frenzy of Orlando'', more loosely ''Raging Roland'') is an Italian epic poem by Ludovico Ariosto which has exerted a wide influence on later culture. The earliest version appeared in 1516, although the poem was no ...

'', in which the Muslim knight Roger (Italian: ''Ruggiero'') saves the pagan princess Angelica from a sea monster. The motif is closely related to the mythological theme of

Perseus In Greek mythology, Perseus (Help:IPA/English, /ˈpɜːrsiəs, -sjuːs/; Greek language, Greek: Περσεύς, Romanization of Greek, translit. Perseús) is the legendary founder of Mycenae and of the Perseid dynasty. He was, alongside Cadmus ...

saving Andromeda.

Background

Symbolist art was a late 19th-century

art movement An art movement is a tendency or style in art with a specific common philosophy or goal, followed by a group of artists during a specific period of time, (usually a few months, years or decades) or, at least, with the heyday of the movement defin ...

, mainly originating in German and French speaking countries, with

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

as one of the leading centers. Since the movement was initiated by and closely related to literature, poetry and music, symbolist painters often chose their motives from these areas. The style is characterized as: "refined, elegant, subtle, intellectual, and elitist".

Theme

The motif is inspired from one of the main characters in ''

'', the 16th-century Italian romantic epic poem by

Ludovico Ariosto Ludovico Ariosto (; 8 September 1474 – 6 July 1533) was an Italian poet. He is best known as the author of the romance epic ''Orlando Furioso'' (1516). The poem, a continuation of Matteo Maria Boiardo's ''Orlando Innamorato'', describes the ...

, a poem that has exerted a wide influence in the European literature. Roger (''Ruggiero'') is in love with the Christian woman Bradamante, who is a warrior and knight herself. The two lovers are separated many times in the story. Roger, originally a Muslim warrior fighting the Franks, has himself baptized to be able to marry Bradamante, who refuses otherwise to marry him. Both Roland (''Orlando'') and Rinaldo are in love with the Chinese princess Angelica.

: "Bound to the naked rock upon the strand : In the isle of tears; for the isle of tears was height, : That which was peopled by the inhuman band, : So passing fierce and full of foul despite"...

In the tenth canto of the poem, Roger is riding in

Brittany Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, Historical region, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known ...

on a hippogriff when he discovers Angelica, naked and chained to a rock, who has been bound there as a sacrifice to a water-dwelling orc, and saves her.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Roger freeing Angelica 1873 paintings Paintings by Arnold Böcklin Paintings in the Alte Nationalgalerie Horses in art Paintings based on literature

Background

Theme

See also

References