(Milan circa 1742–1814?)
Bacchus with putti,
oil on canvas, 93 x 132 cm, framed

We are grateful to Alberto Crispo for confirming the attribution of the present painting on the basis of a photograph.

The present composition depicts the god of wine, Bacchus, reclining and surrounded by putti, one holding a glass of wine, others vine leaves and grapes. The monumentality of the figures, especially of the protagonist of the scene, recalls the aesthetics of ancient sculpture.

The choice of palette in the present work, with delicate pastel tones and the stylistic affinity to the classicism of Anton Raphael Mengs, especially evident in the rendering of the angelic putti, are typical of the work of Francesco Corneliani. He was influenced by Lombard artists of the seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries such as Giulio Cesare Procaccini, Daniele Crespi, and the Nuvolone and Legnanino brothers. Corneliani can be considered one of the most successful interpreters of Lombard classicism.

Active in Milan, Corneliani began his artistic career as a pupil of Sangiorgi at the Accademia Ambrosiana. In 1760, he left for Parma and worked under Carlo Calani before returning to Milan, where he worked on various commissions for the Casa Candiani, the church of San Sebastiano, the Castiglioni, and the church of San Gervasio in Bergamo.