Wide-rimmed bowl depicting figures from Virgil's Aeneid
Original title: Wide-rimmed bowl depicting figures from Virgil's Aeneid
kurzbeschreibung
Maestro Giorgio Andreoli made this maiolica dish in 1525. Figure scenes from Virgil's Aeneid fill the centre, framed by a golden bowl and a broad decorated rim. A lustre finish covers the surface.
Description
A golden bowl closes off the inner field, and around it unfolds a crowded scene from the Aeneid. One man holds a ball in his hand; other figures stand nearby, set in a landscape beneath clouds and sky. Blue, red and green drive the lively colour. Even light falls across the centre of the dish and picks out the details, while a golden ornament runs over the wide rim.
Context
Andreoli ranks among the noted Italian potters of the Renaissance and was known above all for his lustre technique. The piece was made in 1525 in Gubbio, where his workshop stood. Subjects drawn from the Aeneid were widely popular in Renaissance Italian art and gave expression to the humanist interest in antiquity.
Impact
Bright colours meet the golden lustre, producing a noble, sumptuous feel. Because the light reflects evenly, the centre of the dish seems almost to shimmer, and the eye is drawn to the carefully worked figures.
Technique
The dish is maiolica, tin-glazed earthenware, with a lustre decoration added for the metallic sheen. That technique required a separate reduction firing, in which metal oxides on the glaze were reduced.
AI-generated description text
Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art · Public Domain (CC0 1.0)