Dandini Pietro ou Pier (1646-1712)(1646-1712) -Bacchus, bacchanal around

Dandini pietro or pier (1646; 1712) Bacchus in a bacchanal around 1690

99 cm by 76 cm re-lined canvas
Old frame of 118 cm by 95 cm

I would like to thank the Turquin cabinet for its expertise and Professor Sandro Bellesi, specialist in the artist for his confirmation and his proposal of dating between 1690 and 1700.
The artist offers us a superb bacchanal. The composition is rich, the touch is quick, the gesture confident. We know of another painting by the artist dealing with Bacchus with a completely different composition: the Coronation of Bacchus sold for 29,000 by Sothebys in New York on January 30, 2016.

Bacchanalia

These are originally religious festivals celebrated in honor of Bacchus in the Roman world.
In Rome, the bacchanalia spread from Magna Graecia. Meetings sometimes become a pretext for debauchery or crime. In the 2nd c. before J. - C., they took place, of night, in Ostie, in the crowned wood of Stimula, and in Rome, on Aventine.
An initiate revealed to the proconsul Postumius the excesses committed. The Senate had already expressed alarm at the secrecy of the cult, which could encourage political conspiracies. A trial (186 BC) resulted in death sentences or imprisonment. A senatus-consultum therefore prohibited bacchanals, but authorized the Senate to grant exemptions.
The practice persists, semi-clandestine, in southern Italy.

Dandini pietro or pier (1646; 1712)

Coming from a family of painters, he is the son (or nephew, we do not know exactly) and pupil of the painter Vincenzo Dandini. In addition to having received training within the family, he traveled to Bologna, Modena, Venice and Rome to learn about art. As a painter, Dandini's styles were eclectic, as evidenced by his travels, although he had the characteristic nobility of spirit and delicacy of Florentine Baroque.
Dandini is one of the most active painters in Florence during the Baroque period. Very popular with members of the Medici family including Prince Ferdinand and the Grand Duke. His works can be found in many churches in the city, such as San Frediano (frescoes in the Chapel of San Bernardo), San Jacopo Soprarno (frescoes in the vault), San Giovannino degli Scolopi, Santa Maria Maddalena de' Pazzi, Santa Maria Maggiore…
Other works can be found in Palazzo Corsini, Villa La Petraia (frescoes in the Cappella Nuova) and Villa Bellavista near Pistoia, he also worked inside Palazzo Marchetti… The Palaces and Churches where the one can admire his works are numerous.