The triumph of the virtuous artist on Parnassus

Etching, circa 1644/46, signed by the publisher Giovanni Domenico De Rossi at the bottom in the dedication to Tommaso Rondenino: All'Ill.mo Sig. Tomaso Rondenino Cavalier Gerosoli-mitano./Chi cammina per la via della Virtu con la scorta del lume della sapienza non puo far a meno che la fama non li ap presti corone e trionfi V. S. Ill.ma che calca anch'essa il medesimo sentiero miri in questo delineamento del Sig.r Testa espresso un ritratto delle sue virtuose operazioni e gli eventi del suo merito quale incatenera'/ il tempo e loserbera immortale, ad onta della morte dall'espressione di questa verita' riconosca a V.S. Ill.ma il mio ossequio ef humiliss:te me li inchino Di V.S. Ill.ma Devotissimo et obligatissimo Servitore Gio. Domenico Rossi.

Example in the second state of three, with dedication to Rondenino.

Magnificent proof, rich in tones, printed on contemporary laid paper with “circle and lily” watermark, trimmed to copperplate, traces of glue and small restored tears visible on verso, otherwise in good condition.

The allegorical meaning of this scene is linked to a profound moral sense: the young virtuous hero, depicted naked in the center, has arrived at Parnassus via a narrow and impervious path. He is crowned by Fame and illuminated by the torch of Wisdom, while behind him Ignorance, Envy, and the other Vices flee, accompanied by a donkey and a monkey.

On Parnassus, an idyllic sanctuary for poets and artists, the Muses, surrounded by cherubs, are ready to welcome him, among whom Erato stands out with her crowned head; in the foreground is Time, depicted according to the classical iconography of Saturn, old, winged, with the Hourglass. It is clear that with this allegorical staging of the arrival of the wise artist on Mount Parnassus, Testa wanted to celebrate his profound philosophical conviction of the Triumph of vice over ignorance, and in a figurative sense, his own triumph as a pure artist over his detractors and rivals, real or imagined (we know that Testa suffered from delusions of persecution, which led him to commit suicide in those very years).

Dating back to the author's most intellectual period, between 1645 and 1650, some critics, including Bellini, have expressed reservations about the complete authenticity of this engraving by Testa, suggesting that the lower right-hand side was completed by Giulio Cesare Testa.

Even if there were external interventions, the overall compositional idea is undoubtedly due to the cultured mind of the engraver from Lucca.

According to the biographer Passeri, the face of the young virtuoso is an idealized portrait of Testa himself. In fact, there are numerous high-quality preparatory drawings for this engraving, the most famous of which is the final study of the composition preserved in the Teylers Museum in Haarlem (Cropper, 1988, no. 103), squared for transposition, as well as various studies of figures.

Pietro Testa was called Lucchesino as he was born in Lucca. There are but a few news about his apprenticeship in his hometown; for sure, he went to Rome in 1629 to study in the school of Domenichino first and then, towards the end of the year, he moved to the studio of his real master, Pietro da Cortona. His introvert temper caused him a lot of troubles; Cortona, in fact, was obliged to send him away due to his hostile and disdainful behaviour.

Testa went then to the house of his first patron, the famous collector Cassiano del Pozzo, and for him he realized his drawings from antiques. Maybe it was in this house that he met Nicolas Poussin who deeply influenced his art both in the neo-Venetian phase and the intellectual classicist one, from 1635.

His engravings though, about 40 pieces, have been considered, starting from Sandrart and Bladinucci, the most important graphic works of the Italian XVII century.

Bibliografia

Cropper, Pietro Testa, pp. 224-227, n. 102; Bartsch 33, Bellini 33, II/III; Massari, Tra Mito ed Allegoria, pp. 540-541, n. 222, II/III.