Historiated Majolica Urbino, Circa 1550-70 - Probably Fontana Workshop

This magnificent historiated majolica dated 1550-1570, comes from Urbino in Italy, probably from the Fontana workshop. The painted scene shows Neptune embracing the nymph Cenis on a shore. Dressed in a green turban and a manganese drape, the god drops his black trident, placed at his feet. The nymph wears a puffy ocher dress. The presence of Cupid, winged and exchanging his bow for a trident, supports the loving character of the scene. Placed in the sea, three seahorses constitute the chariot of Neptune, emerging from the waters. The landscape is formed by a massive rock dividing the background in two, with boats on one side and an island with buildings and mountains on the other. This composition is taken from an engraving by Virgil Solis, entitled Cenis and Poseidon, illustrating the 1563 edition of Ovid's Metamorphoses. The production of the workshop of the ceramist Orazio Fontana (1510-1571) is characterized above all by the attention given to the landscapes which constitute the backdrop of the historiated majolicas. The rocks are stylized, the blue tones, used for the sky and the water, contrast with the red-orange tones and the amber complexion of the characters. On the back of the ceramic there are several inscriptions: Netuno, written in the center, in blue; a descriptive note written in German, dating and identifying the plan as coming from the workshop of Orazio Fontana; and finally a second fragmentary descriptive note written in English. A production of exceptional quality, the work astonishes both by the bright colors which make up the scene, and by the sensation of intense movement, rendered by the flying drapes, by the chaotic movement of the water, and by the pose of the god of the Ocean, running to kiss the nymph.