Melancholy

This complex allegory based on the figure of a girl meditating on a skull was inspired by a print by D�rer. Fetti, however, completely reworked the subject in a Baroque manner. The objects, the dog, and the foliage that we see all appear to add fleshy fullness to the picture. In doing so, Fetti was doubtless recalling the examples of sixteenth-century Venetian art.

This painting became the symbol of the art of Domenico Fetti. It is known from various autograph versions as well as from several derivations executed by the workshop.

Suggested listening (streaming mp3, 2 minutes):

Jules Massenet: Elegie