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Res. Katalogtext: Description in Italian Paintings: Three Centuries of Collecting, Nationalmuseum, Stockholm, 2015, cat.no. 32: 

FORMER INV. NOS.: 209 (M. 1804); KM 866.

TECHNICAL NOTES: Inscriptions verso: “209”; paper labels: “C. Cignani.
 Carro del Aurora. Mart. 209”; “KM 866 Cignani Aurora, på sin char”.

PROVENANCE: Martelli 1804.

BIBLIOGRAPHY: Sander 1872–76, III, p. 111, no. 209 (as Cignani); 
Prytz and Eriksson 2010, p. 81 (as Cignani).

In this companion piece to The Chariot of Phoebus
(NM 7225, cat. no. 31), Aurora, the goddess of the
dawn, is seated on a chariot surrounded by three
putti, one of which is holding a torch to light
up the late night. Aurora herself is distributing
flowers from her chariot. The composition is very
similar to that of NM 7225, but in contrast to
that painting Aurora wears a blue mantle and the
direction of the chariot is reversed. According to
Ovid she has a purple mantle that spreads behind
her as she rides, and she is said to scatter roses
and other flowers as she passes by. Although in
this painting Aurora’s mantle is blue, the artist
mainly keeps to the myth.

The goddess of dawn was represented in the art
of ancient Rome, and the subject enjoyed a revival
in the work of Bolognese artists such as Guido
Reni and Guercino. Like the previous painting,
The Chariot of Phoebus, this one also first occurs
in the 1804 catalogue and is listed as additional in
1810. It has an original label on the verso with the
attribution to Carlo Cignani: “C. Cignani. Carro
del Aurora. Mart. 209.” There is also a later label:
“Cignani. Aurora, på sin char”.¹ This attribution
has never been questioned. And though the painting
is no masterpiece, there is no reason to doubt
the attribution to Cignani or his circle.

Like NM 7225, this small painting may well be
a sbozzo for a larger ceiling decoration in Bologna
or Rome, and the two works were possibly also
used as fixtures in a palace interior.²

JE
1 Prytz and Eriksson 2010, p. 81.
2 Ibid [END]