.jpg?w=1)
Lot Essay
The Pseudo Caroselli was the anonymous painter closely related to, and possibly a pupil of, the Roman master Angelo Caroselli, with whom he is often mistaken. Although he is strongly indebted to Angelo’s style, his unconventional subject matter has often led scholars to identify him as a Dutch or Flemish artist.
The Pseudo Caroselli was identified by Federico Zeri as the Flemish landscape artist Balthasar Lauwers, or Baldassarre Lauri, whose daughter Brigida married Angelo Caroselli, the latter also being the teacher to Lauri’s two sons, Francesco, and the more renowned Filippo Lauri. Marta Rossetti has proposed that the Pseudo Caroselli (or at least, the specific artist responsible for the group in question here) could be the son of Angelo, Carlo Caroselli, which would support the ‘CC’ signature on the present painting. Rossetti has also, more recently, proposed that the Pseudo Caroselli may be identifiable as a relation of Henri Cousin. Cousin was a celebrated goldsmith and jeweller whose family ran one of the most important goldsmith companies in Paris, with another workshop in Rome. She notes the prominent references to gold and the repeated inclusion of elaborate, Netherlandish gold objects in the group given to this artist, and therefore the ‘CC’ could refer to ‘Caroselli’ and ‘Cousin’. Prior to 1603, Caroselli’s father-in-law, Balthasar Lauwers, had married Cousin’s daughter, Elena, linking the family of painters with that of the French goldsmiths (see V. Sgarbi, ‘Pseudo Caroselli, La morte di Cleopatra…’, Quaderni del Barocco, November, 2012).
The artist’s corpus is made up of a series of allegorical subjects, replete with vanitas references. They frequently feature female protagonists, depicted as full-length or half-length figures, often dressed quite revealingly in richly decorated attire, creating a heightened sense of theatricality: the gestures are dramatically emphasized, while the headpieces and clothing seem like stage costumes.
The subject of this painting has previously been identified as Omphale, queen of the kingdom of Lydia, to whom the hero Hercules was offered as a slave to repay his murder of Iphitus. In an inversion of roles, Omphale forced Hercules to do women’s work, and to hold a basket of wool while Omphale and her maidens did their spinning. Although Omphale is usually depicted alongside Hercules, and wearing his attributes, it is not uncommon for the Pseudo Caroselli to focus solely on the female subjects and dress them in his costumes. It has alternatively been suggested that the painting represents one of the Three Fates who spin (Clotho), draw out (Lachesis) and cut (Atropos) the thread of life of mortals in ancient Greek mythology. The figure could in particular be identified as Clotho who spun the thread of life from her distaff onto her spindle. The latter subject seems to fit within the Pseudo Caroselli’s oeuvre, given the Fate’s reference to the transience of life, a subject to which the artist is constantly drawn, as well as the necromantic aspect to the witch-like figure.
We are grateful to Dott.ssa Marta Rossetti for endorsing the attribution on the basis of photographs and for pointing out the ‘CC’ monogram on the painting.
The Pseudo Caroselli was identified by Federico Zeri as the Flemish landscape artist Balthasar Lauwers, or Baldassarre Lauri, whose daughter Brigida married Angelo Caroselli, the latter also being the teacher to Lauri’s two sons, Francesco, and the more renowned Filippo Lauri. Marta Rossetti has proposed that the Pseudo Caroselli (or at least, the specific artist responsible for the group in question here) could be the son of Angelo, Carlo Caroselli, which would support the ‘CC’ signature on the present painting. Rossetti has also, more recently, proposed that the Pseudo Caroselli may be identifiable as a relation of Henri Cousin. Cousin was a celebrated goldsmith and jeweller whose family ran one of the most important goldsmith companies in Paris, with another workshop in Rome. She notes the prominent references to gold and the repeated inclusion of elaborate, Netherlandish gold objects in the group given to this artist, and therefore the ‘CC’ could refer to ‘Caroselli’ and ‘Cousin’. Prior to 1603, Caroselli’s father-in-law, Balthasar Lauwers, had married Cousin’s daughter, Elena, linking the family of painters with that of the French goldsmiths (see V. Sgarbi, ‘Pseudo Caroselli, La morte di Cleopatra…’, Quaderni del Barocco, November, 2012).
The artist’s corpus is made up of a series of allegorical subjects, replete with vanitas references. They frequently feature female protagonists, depicted as full-length or half-length figures, often dressed quite revealingly in richly decorated attire, creating a heightened sense of theatricality: the gestures are dramatically emphasized, while the headpieces and clothing seem like stage costumes.
The subject of this painting has previously been identified as Omphale, queen of the kingdom of Lydia, to whom the hero Hercules was offered as a slave to repay his murder of Iphitus. In an inversion of roles, Omphale forced Hercules to do women’s work, and to hold a basket of wool while Omphale and her maidens did their spinning. Although Omphale is usually depicted alongside Hercules, and wearing his attributes, it is not uncommon for the Pseudo Caroselli to focus solely on the female subjects and dress them in his costumes. It has alternatively been suggested that the painting represents one of the Three Fates who spin (Clotho), draw out (Lachesis) and cut (Atropos) the thread of life of mortals in ancient Greek mythology. The figure could in particular be identified as Clotho who spun the thread of life from her distaff onto her spindle. The latter subject seems to fit within the Pseudo Caroselli’s oeuvre, given the Fate’s reference to the transience of life, a subject to which the artist is constantly drawn, as well as the necromantic aspect to the witch-like figure.
We are grateful to Dott.ssa Marta Rossetti for endorsing the attribution on the basis of photographs and for pointing out the ‘CC’ monogram on the painting.