Scuola fiamminga (XVII) - Meleagro offre la testa del cinghiale ad Atalanta

A splendid 17th century Flemish painting. An oil on canvas work depicting a mythological subject of great charm, Meleager offers the boar's head to Atalanta. The Fates had predicted that Meleager would live until a log of wood was consumed and so his mother Althea kept him safe in a chest. His father, Oeneus, had forgotten to honor Artemis after a lucky harvest. The Goddess takes revenge by sending a gigantic boar that devastates the fields and kills anyone who leaves the city walls. To defeat the monster, Oeneus gathers the greatest heroes of the time, including Atalanta, an incredible hunter who infatuated Meleager. She was the first to wound the animal but Meleager himself took care of killing it with a javelin blow. Out of gratitude or love, the boy gave the boar's head and skin as a trophy to Atalanta. A dispute with his uncles arose and Meleager reacted by killing them. His mother Altea, as soon as she learned that her son had killed his brothers, took the log of wood and placed it on a brazier. A work of remarkable pictorial quality inspired by a canvas by Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640) , certainly taking the protagonists of the story as a model but immersing them in an Arcadian landscape of Flemish taste not present in the original composition. Scenic 19th century frame in carved and gilded wood, with some loss of gilding and signs of aging (see photo) . Painting already restored with re-lining, replacement of the frame and re-colouring in small spots. Overall in good condition. Painting size H 83 x W 62 cm.