Giulio Carpioni

By descent in the family of the present owners since at least the 19th century.

The subject is taken from Ovid, Metamorphoses (6: 382-400). Marsyas, a satyr and a skilful player of the flute, was challenged by Apollo to a musical contest; the winner to inflict whatever penalty he chose upon the loser. When the Muses inevitably chose Apollo, the god flayed Marsyas alive. Ovid relates how the river Marsyas in Phrygia sprung from the tears shed by satyrs at Marsyas' death. The subject is rare in Carpioni's oeuvre; one other version, of slightly larger format, was sold in these Rooms, 6 December 1995, lot 154.