Rinaldo and Armida
Artist: Antonio Zucchi, RA (Italian, 1726-1796)
Date: 1773
Medium: Oil on canvas
Collection: National Trust Collections, United Kingdom
Description
A classical scene from Tasso, II Canto 17 – 20, with lovers under a tree and two soldiers behind them, the reflective mirror has been casted aside. In the background are the two Danish Knights, who are about to persuade Rinaldo to quit Armida. One of a set of six over-door paintings by Antonio Zucchi, previously, erroneously, attributed to Angelica Kauffman.
A scene from Torquato Tasso's epic poem, Gerusalemme liberata (1581) and inspired by Ariosto's Orlando Furioso. The sorceress Armida has been sent to stop the Christians and is about to murder the First Crusade soldier, Rinaldo, but instead she falls in love. She creates an enchanted garden where she holds him a lovesick prisoner. Eventually two of his fellow Crusaders find him and hold a shield to his face, so he can see his image and remember who he is.
