CARACTERÍSTICAS DE LA POBLACIÓN DE ESTUDIO

This middle period of Fialetti’s career was dominated by patronage stemming from his relationships with Wotton and Nys. While the previous work for Gigli was brought about through a working relationship with Daniel Nys, the commission of the Scherzi d’Amore

[Figs. 3.79-3.92] came through an introduction made by Sir Henry Wotton. The Scherzi d’Amore was written and illustrated for Baron Roos, the grandson of Lord Burghley.136 He is an enigmatic historical figure who served as the ambassador to Spain, but about whom relatively little is known. It was early in his life, however, during one of his visits to Venice that he met Fialetti and commissioned the 1617 Scherzi d’Amore. The date is significant not only because it marks the beginning of his tenure as an ambassador, but also because he was married in 1616, and thus this book may have been commissioned on the occasion of his wedding.137 The work has a relatively simple title page consisting of two putti holding up the coat of arms of Baron Roos upon a base of clouds.138 The book

Carte del Navegar Pitoresco, which also discusses his depiction of the body, but does not enumerate his mastery over its individual parts.

136_{M. Hume,The Great Lord Burghley, London 1906.}

137_{It should also be noted that he left his wife only one year later, and died mysteriously, thought by some}

to have been poisoned.

138_{SCHERZI / D’AMORE / Espressi da / ODOARDO FIALETTI / AL MAGNANIMO / et Ill}mo_Sigr_Sigr

il Sigr/ BARON ROOS / IN VENETIA CON LIC. DE. SUP. MDCXVII. [BAV, Cicognara AV.2113.b, 69-83] There is no indication of the printer in Venice on the title page, or on the so-calledFirst Title page which appears in the BM edition, but not in the Roman copy. Each page is 177x92mm, and the work is bound in with several unrelated books, including Palma il Giovane’s drawing book, and loose prints and drawings. The copy in Rome is identical in contents to the copy in London; however the page beginning

is comprised of thirteen illustrations of Venus and Cupid in various activities and attitudes accompanying text by the poet D. Maurizio Moro139; three pages contain no text (and are unsigned) and appear in sequence before the final page.

The first page contains an illustration of Venus covering a sleeping Cupid, which is very

much in the style of his earlier 1598 Venus and Cupid. The figure of Venus is of an

identical type to that of the earlier depiction; however by this point, it becomes obvious that Fialetti has abandoned the fine detail that is indicative of his early period and emphasises volumetric shading, looser handling and focus on the interplay of light on a variety of textures. Fialetti’s maturing style (as demonstrated in these thirteen plates) has been most accurately described as: “the quest for equilibrium between the expressive force ofchiaroscuroand the pictorial freedom of the printed medium”.140 There is also a clear influence from Agostino Carracci, especially if one compares Agostino’s engraving ofVenus punishing Cupid,which though similar to Fialetti’s depiction of the same scene,

includes two additional putti, and arranges the figures differently.141 The second

illustration is a much more intimate one, of Venus and Cupid embracing, with a pair of

with the text “Tolto c’hol aureo stral’” (p.83 in the BAV copy) are catalogued as plate 2 in the British Museum copies. Pages referred to in text refer to the BAV copy. The British Museum has several incomplete sets of this series by Fialetti, and one copy in reverse after Fialetti. A number of impressions can be identified from the incomplete sets, printed on standard white paper, pink paper and brown paper. O. Fialetti,Scherzi d’Amore. Etching, each approximately 178x93mm, 1617. [BM, Italian XVIIc Mounted Roy, 1925,0331.1-14] The print on pink paper is3: Venus covering the sleeping Cupid with a cloth. Etching, 143x92mm, 1617. [BM, Italian XVIIc Unmounted Roy, U,5.19] The print on brown paper is2: Venus seated holding an arrow and looking over her shoulder. Etching, 178x90mm, 1617. [BM, Italian XVIIc Unmounted Roy, U,5.21] All other copies, and a full list of plates for the book are given in the Appendix.

139

The author of the text is not given in the work itself, and is found in G. Gori Gandellini’s biography of Fialetti. G. Gori Gandellini,Notizie Istoriche degl’Intagliatori, 21-22. No. 27, Appendix III. The work is also mentioned by P.A. Orlandi, and F. De Boni, though the author is not named.

140_{“Fialetti, Odoardo”,Dizionario Enciclopedico Bolaffi dei Pittori e degli Incisori Italiani, IV (Cos-Fil),}

1973, 433.

141

This image is discussed in F. Moro, “Alcune fonti iconografiche delle maioliche dei Castelli d’Abruzzo”,Rassegna di Studi e di Notizie, Castello Sforzesco9, 1981, pp. 412-415.

flamingos mimicking their gesture in the mid-ground and two crossed trees mirroring their posture and dynamism directly above the pair. This is potentially the weakest of the thirteen illustrations for the book, as the cross-hatching from the rock extends down into the back of Venus. It may also indicate that this book was completed quickly for Baron Roos, as the pages cover a gradient of quality and depth of line. In two later plates,Venus commands Cupid to her side as he fills his quiver with arrows andVenus holds Cupid’s bow out of reach, we again see reference to the fact that this book appears to have been completed rapidly, with each page appearing as an independent work. There is a disparity in the figure of Cupid, sometimes he appears as a youth of about seven years of age (as in

Venus combing Cupid’s hair), and at other times the same figure is a classically styled (and sized) putto as in these two plates. Though this book is not an overt work of eroticism, Fialetti has sexualised the images beyond that of the allegory or game of love, and makes graphic allusions to Venus’ genitalia in the folds of cloth in Venus holding Cupid’s bow out of reachand the earlierVenus and Cupid embracing.

Beyond these overt sexual overtones, Fialetti continues to play his game of visual rhyming throughout the image, in the crossed tree trunks and horizontal branches mimicking Venus’ arm and Cupid’s bow, and echoing the tone of the poem by D. Maurizio Moro. The narrative is broken in the scenes ofVenus blindfolding Cupid for a gameandVenus looks up to Cupid. In the earlier image of Venus scolding Cupid, we see his bow broken, however for these two works it is whole again.142 The three plates with

142_{Again it must be noted that the sequence of plates in the BAV copy differs from that given by the}

Illustrated Bartsch, and the incomplete BM copy. In the BM version, the sequence afterVenus blindfolding Cupid for a gameis as follows:Venus breaking Cupid’s bow over her knee,Cupid fashions a new bow whilst Venus looks on, andVenus looks up to Cupid.

no text (Venus looks up to Cupid,Venus breaking Cupid’s bow over her knee, and Cupid fashions a new bow whilst Venus looks on) are also unsigned, whereas all other pages have Fialetti’s monogram and the letter “f” in the lower right corner. If one considers the number of extant copies of this work (both complete and incomplete), as well as the prevalence of copies after Fialetti, it becomes apparent that this was a popular book not only in Italy, but presumably England (after Roos brought it back from Venice), and France where it was used as a pattern book for faïence produced in Nevers.143