Venus awakened by Cupid

Although born in the Tuscan town of Pistoia, also the birthplace of the influential Rospigliosi family, Gimignani spent almost his entire life in Rome where he established himself as a classicizing courtly painter. Initially in the 1630s he worked under Pietro da Cortona for the Barberini family and Gimignani's brilliant use of color and painterly surface betray the enduring influence of his master. However, he was also responsive to the more austere, formal compositions of Domenichino and Poussin, which endeared him to French collectors at the time, among them François Annibal d'Estrees who commissioned Rinaldo and Armida in the Enchanted Forest (Musée de Ville, Bouxwiller). With Romanelli, to whom this painting was formerly attributed, Gimignani played an important role in the introduction of the Roman Baroque style to France. Gimignani ended his long career working for the Chigi Pope Alexander VII, under the direction of Bernini.

This painting may be dated to the mid 1640s when the artist's style was closest to Romanelli, who was also painting sensual mythologies on an oval format at this time. The reclining Venus, seen in profile with her dramatically airborne drapery, alludes both to classical sculpture and Poussinesque models. This painting may be compared to a vertical Venus and Putti of similar dimensions (Marquess of Exeter, Burghley House), which is signed but not dated.

We are grateful to Dott. Giancarlo Sestieri for suggesting the attribution to Gimignani from a transparency (written communication, 29 January 2006).