Details

Provenienz:
Sotheby’s, New York, Auktion, 17.10.1997, Los 7;
Privatbesitz, Norddeutschland.

Description

This densely populated banquet scene is based on an episode from Ovid’s Metamorphoses in which Theseus and his companions, prevented from continuing their journey by a flood, are invited to a meal by the river god Achelous, an extremely obliging host: “Immediately the tables were set up by barefoot nymphs and covered with food. When the meal was finished, wine was brought in bowls of precious stones” (Metamorphoses, VIII, 571-573). The banquet has been moved to the middle ground and is held directly on the shore. The men sit around the food-laden table, some facing the spring nymphs in conversation, and more and more plates are brought in. In the same way, the carafes, bowls and ceremonial dishes displayed on a credenza express abundance and wealth. Putti hover above the table and scatter flowers, a motif also found in van Balen’s depictions of ancient mythical weddings. The larger part of the composition, however, is taken up by the element of water and its inhabitants. Tritons and Nereids cavort in the floods, Neptune can be seen in the background with Amphitrite in her shell chariot. In the foreground we see a nymph in a half shell, who may be a representation of the foam-born Venus Marina. A crowd of nymphs and other nature spirits emerge from the water, their arms laden with freshly caught fish to serve to the guests.