Lot 386: Joseph Paelinck , 1781-1839 Apollo punishes Midas for his false judgement by condemning him to sport an ass's ears oil on canvas

signed and dated on the rock lower left J. PAELINCK/1825 oil on canvas

measurements note 124 3/8 by 63 in.; 316 by 160 cm.

Paelinck combines two versions of a myth concerning a musical contest between Apollo and Pan in which, like Marsyas, the latter is defeated. In one account, the contest was judged by Tmolus, a mountain God, but King Midas disagreed with the verdict and was rewarded with ass's ears by Apollo. According to another version the contest was judged by Midas and the Muses. Paelinck has included all these characters in his composition, placing Pan and the Muses to the left and Apollo to the right, who is commanding the ears to an astounded Midas in the center of the picture. In this painting the artist was inspired by two diverse stylistic tendencies: on the one hand an interest in pictorial realism is illustrated by the detailed drapery and historical precision of both costumes and accessories, while on the other hand there are elements of classicism and seventeenth century precedents in particular in the figure of Apollo. Paelinck may have taken his inspiration from Andrea Sacchi's portrait of Marcantonio Pasqualini (1614-1691) Crowned by Apollo (New York, The Metropolitan Museum of Art), in which Pasqualini, the singer, represents the triumph of the nuova musica. This may have been a conscious humorous gesture for what Pan failed to do in Paelinck's composition, the singer achieves in Sacchi's earlier work. As a pupil of David, the painting's Neoclassical quality stems from his late work, once again treating mythological subjects which are no longer models of virtue, but whose point is to please without moral reservation. It was no accident that the composition was also inspired by one of Charles Eisen's illustrations for Les Metamorphoses d'Ovide (1769-1771). In this painting, the artist has both reflected and significantly contributed to the Restoration taste by providing a theme appropriate to the literary culture of the Ancien Régime.