(Florence 1611–1698) Amphinome and Evadne, the daughters of Pelias, bewitched by Medea, Anfinome e Evadne, Le figlie di Pelia ingannate da Medea, oil on canvas, 86 x 106 cm, framed

As yet unpublished, the present painting is an important rediscovery within the oeuvre of the Florentine. Here he is reworking a theme which features in other extant work, an enlarged variant in his own hand (Rome, Palazzo Pamphili, 154 x 211 cm) and a smaller studio work (Rome, private collection, 62 x 78 cm). Questo dipinto inedito è un importante aggiunta alle Oeuvres di Simone Pignoni, e va messo in relazione con altre due opere del Pignoni con il medesimo tema; una tela autografa conservata a Roma nella raccolta Doria Pamphilij (154 x 211 cm) e un lavoro di bottega in collezione privata (62 x 78 cm). Even though it was evidently one of the best loved compositions by the artist, the work’s iconography remained a mystery for a long time. It is a tale from Euripides’ Argonauts. Medea, who has returned home with Jason and the Golden Fleece, wants to get rid of the King of Iolcos, Pelias. Jason is plotting revenge because Pelias has killed his father, Aison. Medea outsmarts and bewitches the daughters of Pelias, so that they will rejuvenate their father, in the course of which they will be killed by him. The two daughters are preparing themselves for their deed in the foreground, while in the background Medea is standing in front of a sacrificial fire and pointing out the daughters to a variety of demons. Pignoni plays subtly with the morbid eroticism produced by the dark mood, the contrasting flesh tones and the witch scene in the background. The present painting can be dated to the first phase of Pignoni’s work, which later almost exclusively addressed religious themes. The defining period of Pignoni’s oeuvre was probably his training in the workshop of Francesco Furini. Powerful in composition, pleasure-loving in the representation of the two young women and skilful in its use of chiaroscuro, this is an important work from Pignoni’s early career. We are grateful to Dr Francesca Baldassari for the identification of the painting as an important work by Pignoni. She is of the opinion that some elements of the composition may have been produced in collaboration with the workshop.