1570
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
Dominant colour
Angelica and Medoro is a 1570 by Giorgio Ghisi, a Renaissance work, held at Cleveland Museum of Art.
The painting shows a couple, Angelica and Medoro, carving their names on trees. This scene is from a famous poem, Orlando Furioso. The poet updated an old story with classical themes. The artist also used a classic style to depict the lovers. You can learn more about this style by looking at the work of artist Giorgio Ghisi (Italian, 1520–1582).
This scene stems from Ludovico Ariosto’s (1474–1533) 16th-century best-seller Orlando Furioso , an epic poem in which Princess Angelica falls in love with Medoro, a soldier she nurses back to health. They are shown here declaring their union by carving their names “on every stone or shady tree.” Like the poet Ariosto, who updated a medieval chivalric story with classical themes, Teodoro and his brother, Giorgio, portrayed the lovers in the popular antique style.
Read the full account in the museum source.
Giorgio Ghisi (1520 — 15 December 1582) was an Italian engraver from Mantua who also worked in Antwerp and in France.
See the richer artist page
