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The loves of the gods are not a long quiet river! As proof, this virtuosic sketch in shades of brown presents the voluptuous abduction of Proserpina, the central figure. In dominating it, his uncle Pluto, the Roman god of the Underworld, is hit by Cupid's arrow. The god is recognizable thanks to his bident and the torch carried by the cherub. Below, the nymph Cyané watches the drama. Her inexhaustible tears are symbolized by the overturned vase.
This fiery scene draws its mythological subject from Ovid's Metamorphoses.
The oval format is typical of popular medallion subjects. Without an identifiable result, would the presence of the signature and date, rare for a sketch, make it an independent work?
Boucher, a notable French Rococo artist under Louis XV, demonstrates his mastery here, a year before his death.
Boucher's work enjoys the freedom of touch provided by the preparatory exercise. A sketch leaves room for impetuous movement and is not laden with detail. The painter applies the monochrome technique, which consists in using gradients of a single shade.
© Musée des beaux-arts de Quimper.
Title: The abduction of Proserpina
Author: François Boucher
Date: 1769
Technique: Oil painting on canvas
Displayed in: Quimper Museum of Fine Arts
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