Rinaldo and Armida in the Magic Forest 1730 - 1738

Armida, an ally of the Saracens, has fallen desperately in love with the heroic crusader Rinaldo. She has bewitched him and abducted him to her enchanted island. Freed from the allure by his companions, Rinaldo now wants to break the next spell. He enters an enchanted forest over which Armida has cast a spell, and she once again attempts to seduce him. As the raised shield and brandished sword indicate, this time Rinaldo remains steadfast. He breaks the magic spell she has cast over the forest and thus provides the army of crusaders with wood as material for their conquest of Jerusalem. Torquato Tasso's epic 'La Gerusalemme liberata', set at the time of the Crusades, provides the literary basis for this picture, which remains full of charm despite the dramatic elements. The story was used in a variety of ways in Baroque music theatre and also in painting. Anton Kern, to whom this panel painting is ascribed, was a native of Bohemia and worked with Giovanni Battista Pittoni in Venice and, from 1741 onwards, as a court painter in Dresden.