Pelagio Palagi (Bologna 1775/7-1860 Turin)

Close compositional and stylistic parallels with Pelagio Palagi’s Ariadne leading Theseus out of the Labyrinth (Galleria D'Arte Moderna, Bologna) indicate that the present work may have been painted during his stay in Rome, when he was working on the cycle of Theseus completed in 1813 for the gallery of the Palazzo Torlonia in Piazza Venezia (C. Bernardini, Pelagio Palagi alle collezioni comunali d'arte, Bologna, 2004, p. 51).
The artist was not only an accomplished Neoclassical painter but also a sculptor and interior decorator. His background in the decorative arts is evident in the somewhat mannerist treatment of the Neoclassical objects depicted, such as the table base with twisted flutes and the curling acanthus around the throne, and in the careful attention given to the depiction of the ewer, basin and cup.