Paolo Fiammingo, 'Landscape with the Expulsion of the Harpies', about 1590
Two Scenes from the Argonautica
These two very large canvases may once have been part of a series of perhaps six or more paintings which would have decorated the walls of a whole room in a Venetian palace, like wallpaper today. They were painted hastily using only a limited range of colours, which may be because they were intended as interior decoration rather than as gallery pictures.
Landscape with the Expulsion of the Harpies illustrates a scene from the Argonautica, an epic romance written by Apollonius Rhodius in the third century BC. The hybrid women in Landscape with a Scene of Enchantment could be beastly followers of Circe also described in the Argonautica (Book IV) and the sleeping man may be Odysseus. The very specific elements in this scene suggest that it illustrates a particular story, although we do not know which one.
These two very large canvases may once have been part of a series of perhaps six or more paintings. They are very large – over two metres wide and almost two metres high – and it is likely that they were made to decorate an upper wall between pilasters in a Venetian palace, possibly the Palazzo Vendramin on the Grand Canal. Such a series would have decorated a whole room, like wallpaper today.
It was usual elsewhere in Italy to paint directly on the plaster when decorating walls, a technique known as fresco. However, while fresco had been popular in Venice, it was increasingly being replaced through the middle of the century by large canvases like these, in part because fresco was not suited to the city’s damp climate. These pictures were painted hastily using only a limited range of colours, which may be because they were intended as interior decoration rather than as gallery pictures.
Landscape with the Expulsion of the Harpies illustrates a scene from the Argonautica, an epic romance written by Apollonius Rhodius in the third century BC. A naked woman points to the sky as Zetes and Calais, the winged sons of Boreas, god of the north wind, put down food as bait to catch the dragon-like harpies. King Phineas stands beside the female figure of Fortune, pointing upward as the young Boreads launch themselves into the air to do battle in the clouds.
The hybrid women in Landscape with a Scene of Enchantment could be beastly followers of Circe also described in the Argonautica (Book IV) and the sleeping man may be Odysseus. Two turbaned figures, emerging from a maze, embrace and talk to one another, while at the top of the picture another naked figure seems to slide into the clouds. The very specific elements in this scene suggest that it illustrates a particular story, although we do not know which one.
