Dido Accosts the Departing Aeneas
c. 1646
Giovanni Francesco Romanelli (Italian, 1612-1662)
Not on View

Dido, who has seen Aeneas' men preparing for the voyage, confronts him in sorrow and anguish. Aeneas points rather sheepishly to the ships and explains his divine mission: he leaves not according to his own free will, but at the command of Jupiter, to found the kingdom of Italy. The grisaille relief of Cupid presenting a vase to a woman (in the background) is a cold echo of the magic banquet scene and the gifts that first impassioned Dido.

Details

  • Artist Name: Giovanni Francesco Romanelli (Italian, 1612-1662)
  • Title: Dido Accosts the Departing Aeneas
  • Date: c. 1646
  • Medium: Gouache and black chalk on paper, laid down on canvas
  • Dimensions: 109 5/8 x 138 1/2 in. (278.4 x 351.8 cm)
  • Credit Line: The Norton Simon Foundation
  • Accession Number: F.1969.33.1.P
  • Copyright: © The Norton Simon Foundation

Object Information

Mr. Alexander Fordyce, Roehampton, Surrey (Langford, 7 July 1774, lot 59).
Rt. Hon. the Earl of Poulett, Hinton St. George, Somerset, by at least 1828 (Sotheby's, London, 26 March 1969, lot 6).
[Thomas Agnew & Sons, Ltd., London].
The Norton Simon Foundation.

Once Upon a Tapestry: Woven Tales of Helen and Dido

  • Norton Simon Museum, 2018-12-07 to 2019-05-27
  • Duverger, Erik, The Connoisseur, p. 282
  • McCorqoudale, Charles, The Baroque Painters of Italy, p. 47
  • McCorquodale, Charles, The Connoisseur, fig. 2 pp. 206-207
  • Crick-Kunstziger, M., Revue Belge d'archéologie et d'histoire de l'art, 1935, pp.35-44
  • Rubinstein, Ruth, Art at Auction: The Year at Southeby's & Parke-Bernet, 1968-1969, 1969, fig. 10 pp. 106-119
  • Bean, Jacob, 17th Century Italian Paintings in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1979, p. 243
  • Geymonat, M., ENEIDE: con episodi significativi di Iliade e Odissea, 1987, p. 386
  • Masterpieces from the Norton Simon Museum, 1989, p. 39
  • Kerber, B., Geissener Beiträge zur Kunstgeschichte, 1997, p. 73, n. 34
  • Oy-Marra, Elizabeth, The Diplomacy of Art: Artistic Creation and Politics in Seicento Italy, 2000, pp. 183-185, ill fig. 4-5
  • Campbell, Sara, Collector Without Walls: Norton Simon and His Hunt for the Best, 2010, cat. 682 p. 327

Additional Artwork by Artist

Dido and Aeneas Seek Shelter from the Storm Giovanni Francesco Romanelli c. 1646
Dido Sacrifices to Juno Giovanni Francesco Romanelli c. 1646
Dido Shows Aeneas Her Plans for Carthage Giovanni Francesco Romanelli c. 1646

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