Minneapolis Institute of Art

Allegory of Autumn

Pietro Testa

Date

c. 1642–44

Medium

Etching

Department

European Art

Institution

Minneapolis Institute of Art

Pietro Testa depicts autumn as a frenzied, reckless triumphal procession honoring Bacchus-the armless statue at the left-god of the wine harvest. An aging, drunken Silenus leads the parade of lustful satyrs and centaurs, who chase nymphs, dance, wrestle, and play music. They have been carousing all night, for above we see Apollo bringing dawn to the starry sky. At the far right, Leo roars summer to a close, and at the left Sagittarius the centaur brings up the rear of the heavenly autumnal progression. Italy, Europe

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