Francisque Desportes, Genre Scene, Oil on Canvas, Framed

Details

Description

Oil on canvas. Signed lower right. The French painter Francisque Desportes created many genre scenes featuring female figures in allegorical-mythological … Read more Oil on canvas. Signed lower right. The French painter Francisque Desportes created many genre scenes featuring female figures in allegorical-mythological garb, in sensual poses, evoked in atmospheres and colors suffused with a romantic taste. In this case, the buxom girl, draped in an animal fleece that does not cover her nakedness, is identified as a maenad, one of the mythological figures who followed the god Bacchus: dressed in animal skins, with a crown of ivy, oak, or fir on their heads, they celebrated the god by singing, dancing, and wandering like animals through mountains and forests, and like him, intoxicated by the fruits of the vine. This girl is portrayed in the act of reaching out to pick some bunches of grapes from above her head with a movement that resembles a dance step; Resting on the ground at her feet are a jug and the rattle-topped staff that the maenad used, as an alternative to other instruments, to accompany her dance. Maenads traditionally danced in wild, open spaces, such as the one in the background of our painting, and predominantly alone, not in groups. The work is presented in a contemporary frame. This piece is attributed to the mentioned designer/maker. It has no attribution mark and no
official proof of authenticity,
however it is well documented in design history. I take full responsibility for any authenticity



issues arising from misattribution See less