Baciccio - Rinaldo and Armida

This oil sketch was painted between 1680 and 1685, but I don't think a full scale work was ever undertaken.

In a scene drawn from Tasso's "La Gerusalemme liberata", the sorceress Armida is shown abducting the sleeping Rinaldo. She originally intended to do away with him, but she finds herself instead falling passionately in love with the handsome crusader. In short, love triumphs over coldblooded calculation - how delightful!

This small picture is one of my favourites from the Blanton Museum of Art at the University of Texas at Austin. Although the museum does have some interesting European old masters, the real strength of its collection lies in modern and contemporary works from the Americas.

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