拍品专文
The scene is taken from Greek mythology and shows the abduction of Helen of Troy, as recounted in Homer’s Iliad. Unlike most representations of the subject, Helen is not shown reluctant in abandoning her husband Menelaus, the King of Sparta. She holds the hand of Paris, her captor, as he leads her to the boat that will take them to Troy – an act that would spark the Trojan War.
Helen’s flight took place at night and Turchi ingeniously exploits the blackness of the stone support, illuminating the scene with a flaming torch at the extreme left. Accents of brilliant colour light up this nocturne – from Helen’s scarlet dress, to the soldier’s green robe and bright yellow tights, or the orange drapery that flaps behind Paris to suggest movement. The figures are extremely monumental, despite the work's intimate scale, and the style of the painting points to a dating in the mid-1610s. A preparatory drawing by Turchi, dated to circa 1615 and also from the Musée d’Art Classique in Mougins, is being offered here (lot 114; fig. 1).
The fact that this painting is executed on a black stone (commonly described as ‘marble’) that was quarried in Verona, points to it having been likely commissioned by a collector in that city. This works well with a dating just prior to Turchi’s departure for Rome, where he would enjoy the patronage of cardinals and noblemen, including Cardinal Scipione Borghese. We are grateful to Nicholas Penny for his help in identifying the stone support.