Salvatore Fiume, Aeneid, I, Aeneas meets Dido, lithography, 60x80 cm, 1989/90

This work, of the Italian master Salvatore Fiume, is part of the unpublished series of 15 example, illustrating the Aeneid and realized, between 1989 and 1990. Obtained and printed with a lithographic process, it is taken from the original painting made with oil colours. Here is represented an episode from the first book of the poem, in which Aeneas, just arrived at Carthage, is warmly welcomed at the court of Queen Dido, who has a banquet set up in honor of the Trojans. During the banquet, Aeneas will recount the past event, the escape from Troy and the storm in the sea. Aeneas, depicted in a classical and solemn pose, raises his right arm to the queen Dido, seated on a throne and surrounded by her maids. The scene, built with a system of symmetries, is framed by the blue drapery of the curtains. The female bodies, with simple and soft shapes, recall the odalisques, recurrent subjects in the artist's production. But what most recalls the exotic world, from which the artist is strongly inspired, is the use of warm colors, such as ocher, red and orange in contrast with the blue. The result is a suggestive and mythical atmosphere.

The work is numbered and has the autograph signature in the lower right corner. On the back, to guarantee authenticity, it presents the stamp declaring the execution technique and the author signature.

Edition 990/999.