AN ALLEGORY OF FIRE: JUPITER AT THE FORGE OF VULCAN; AND AN ALLEGORY OF EARTH: FLORA, CERES, BERECINTA AND BACCHUS

The compositions derive from two of a set of four paintings by Albani depicting The Four Elements in the Galleria Sabauda, Turin (inv. nos. 489 and 509. The originals, of circular format, were commissioned in Rome by Cardinal, later Prince, Maurizio of Savoy (d. 1657). Recorded in the Castello del Valentino, Turin, in 1644 and in Duke Vittorio Amedeo II's collection at the Palazzo Reale, Turin, in 1692, they remained in the latter palace until 1796, when they were taken to Paris with Napoleon's sequestrations. They were subsequently returned in 1814 to Duke Vittorio Emanuele I and installed in the Galleria Sabauda in 1832. Generally acknowledged as one of Albani's most successful achievements, the cycle has been frequently referred to by commentators and tourists alike, as well as borrowed for the decorative arts.