Identifying an unknown work of art is no easy task. It requires various detail oriented exercises ranging from performing a visual analysis, understanding historical context, and much more. For this essay, we were given four unknown works of art and were asked to identify one of them. The work identified was a painting of an eagle devouring Prometheus’ liver in Northern Italy in the early seventeenth century.
The painting of Prometheus being tortured by an eagle was most likely done in Northern Italy between 1580 and 1600. A reason for the years chosen is because works of art of the same subject matter are not usually done at the same time. An example of this idea was the creation of three David sculptures. Donatello created the bronze David in approximately 1440, Michelangelo created his in 1501-1504, and Bernini created his in 1523-1524. Peter Paul Rubens created Prometheus Bound in 1611, meaning the unknown work was done before or after Rubens. To decide whether the painting was finished …show more content…
Seventeenth century viewers of art acted as audiences in a theater because the intention of the works was to visually and emotionally stimulate viewers. The viewers saw and felt Prometheus’ daily suffering vicariously through his lifelike facial expression. It added more engagement if the audience was educated in classical subject matter.
In the seventeenth century, patrons ranged from the rich to urban middle class, and patrons in the Church and secular state. The patron of the unknown artwork was most likely not from the Church because leading up to the seventeenth century, the Church wanted more Catholic content to uphold their piety in face of the Protestant Reformation. This painting probably was commissioned for the patron’s parlor for a private audience. The dark background and tone would not be shown in a public setting, such as a government building or