Pier Francesco Mola (1612 – 1666), Circle of - Rinaldo e Armida

Scope of PIER FRANCESCO MOLA
(Colderio, 1612 – Rome, 1666)
Rinaldo and Armida
Oil on canvas, 74.5 x 99 cm
Frame size, 87 x 112 x 6 cm (approx.)

NOTE: Publication catalog of the Intermidiart collection works. Guarantee certificate and Legitimate Provenance. Work with period-appropriate goldwood frame (defects):

This valuable canvas, depicting one of the most lyrical and fortunate episodes from Torquato Tasso’s Gerusalemme liberata, fits with absolute formal coherence into the rich panorama of Roman Baroque painting of the mid seventeenth century. Historico-critical significance lies in the provenance of the work: within the original collection, the painting was traditionally attributed to the direct, autograph hand of Pier Francesco Mola. This ancient memory of the attributions finds solid justification in the overall composition and, in particular, in the sensitivity with which the landscape is orchestrated, dominated by twilight atmospheres and a vibrant neo-Venetian thread. Although critical prudence today suggests placing the execution within his close circle, the canvas fully absorbs the expressive peaks and stylistic heritage of the Ticinese master.

The figure of Pier Francesco Mola occupies a top-tier position in seventeenth-century Rome. Formed between Bologna — where he assimilated the classicism of Francesco Albani and the Carracci — and Venice, the painter managed to infuse the rigor of Roman drawing with extraordinary chromatic freedom and a ‘touch’ painting learned in the lagoon. Settling in Rome from 1647, Mola became famous for his mythological and biblical compositions set in idyllic and elegiac landscapes, not far from the meditations of Nicolas Poussin. His language, capable of fusing pastoral grace with a deep sense of lyrical melancholy, earned him in 1662 the appointment as Prince of the Academia di San Luca, affirming him among the era’s great protagonists.

The painting masterfully translates the verses of Canto XIV of the Tassian poem, capturing the moment when the sorceress Armida, initially moved by retaliatory intents against the Christian hero Rinaldo, capitulates before the beauty of the sleeping warrior. The sinuous arrangement of the bodies and the soft handling of light and shade describe Rinaldo’s languid surrender, stripped of arms, and Armida’s protective gesture, while a small winged Cupid stands between them as an explicit iconographic key to the amorous enchantment at work. In the background, a wooded and hilly landscape opens toward a sky threaded with dense clouds and silvery glints, while in the distance the tiny figures of the comrades-in-arms appear, come to break the enchantment. The entire scene lives from that happy synthesis of Baroque theatricality and Arcadian intimacy that constitutes the truest hallmark of the Mola circle.

FACILY REPORT
The painting presents a good state of preservation, compatible with the period and the work’s conservation history.
On visual inspection the following technical specifications emerge:
• SUPPORT AND SURFACE: The work shows an old lining intervention aimed at consolidating the original support. The pictorial surface is overall stable, with widespread natural craquelure due to aging affecting the entire canvas, without phenomena of flaking.
• PAINT LAYER AND RESTORATIONS: The examination under natural light shows a legible chromatic layer, preserving the effectiveness of the original chiaroscuro contrasts. Small, targeted interventions of past restoration are recorded (mostly integrative restorations and minor painting compensations) localized on the landscape background and along the canvas margins, aimed at filling old and marginal losses of color.
The painting is housed in a carved and gilded wooden frame of a later period (18th-19th century), which is structurally sound and with a homogeneous superficial patina (frame size 87 x 112 x 6 cm, presence of defects).
"The frame shown in the photos above has been added to the artwork by the seller or a third party. The frame is provided at no additional cost so that it is ready to display as soon as it arrives. The frame is included as a courtesy and is not considered an integral part of the artwork. Therefore, any potential damage to the frame that does not affect the artwork itself will not be accepted as a valid reason to file a claim or request order cancellation."

Provenance: Collection

Publication:
- I Miti e il Territorio nella Sicilia dalle mille culture. INEDITA QUADRERIA general catalog of the paintings of the cycle “I Miti e il territorio”, 2026 (Pdf).

The work will be shipped – given its medium size – with a wooden crate and polystyrene. In case of sale outside of Italian territory, the buyer must wait for the export procedures processing times.