Title
Don Juan and Constance, by Backer (1651, c.)
Creator
Backer, Jacob Adriaensz (c. 1609-1651)
Date
1651, c.
Description
Description at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts:
"This is probably a portrait of a husband and wife dressed up as characters from a Dutch adaptation of La Gitanilla by the Spanish author Miguel de Cervantes. The story tells of the romance between Don Juan, a Spanish nobleman, and Constance, a princess raised by gypsies. The painting represents their first encounter, arranged by Cupid. The unpicked rose in her hand symbolically serves as a happy allusion to love, courtship, and propriety. A combination of portrait and allegory, the scene would have been highly appropriate for an engaged or married couple."
Notice the old woman at the background, in typical celestine position.
"This is probably a portrait of a husband and wife dressed up as characters from a Dutch adaptation of La Gitanilla by the Spanish author Miguel de Cervantes. The story tells of the romance between Don Juan, a Spanish nobleman, and Constance, a princess raised by gypsies. The painting represents their first encounter, arranged by Cupid. The unpicked rose in her hand symbolically serves as a happy allusion to love, courtship, and propriety. A combination of portrait and allegory, the scene would have been highly appropriate for an engaged or married couple."
Notice the old woman at the background, in typical celestine position.
Source
Boston Museum of Fine Arts, United States
http://www.mfa.org/collections/object/don-juan-and-constance-30858
Archived in:
https://web.archive.org/web/20200625003921/https://collections.mfa.org/objects/30858
Accesion Number 74.9
http://www.mfa.org/collections/object/don-juan-and-constance-30858
Archived in:
https://web.archive.org/web/20200625003921/https://collections.mfa.org/objects/30858
Accesion Number 74.9
Format
Oil on canvas.
Dimensions: 70.5 × 59.4 cm (27 3/4 × 23 3/8 in.)
Dimensions: 70.5 × 59.4 cm (27 3/4 × 23 3/8 in.)
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