More beautiful than Venus
16 January 2023
Lecture by Francesca Cappelletti
A famous painting by Jacopo Zucchi entitled Coral Catch, which was once in the household of Ferdinando de Medici in Rome, depicts the beautiful Clelia Farnese as the ancient goddess Anfitrite. Carlo Maratta applies the same principle by depicting Maria Mancini - one of the most influential women at the European courts - as Venus receiving the golden apple in a landscape.
The lecture will explore the dynamics of Baroque portraiture and show how mythological narratives are used to glorify the social status of contemporary women of high birth.