The Separation of Night from Day

Image credit: National Trust Images

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The separation of night from day happens in the story of the Creation. A winged celestial being or spirit (who has variously been called Dawn or Twilight), separates two figures with two wands. Day, a scantily clad young man, moves swiftly towards the light, holding aloft a flaming red cloak, and looking back over his shoulder in the direction of Night from whom he has just withdrawn. Night, a woman, partially enveloped in clouds, raises her star-studded mantle as if to cover her nakedness, and gazes in the direction of retreating Day. This is a fresco in oils, one of very few by Reni in that medium, and one of the artist's earliest works. It was originally on a curved ceiling in the Palazzo Zani, Bologna, but was taken down, using the novel technique strappo (detaching the paint-infused plaster from the plaster behind and reapplying it to canvas).

National Trust, Kingston Lacy

Wimborne Minster

Title

The Separation of Night from Day

Medium

fresco transferred to canvas

Measurements

H 426.5 x W 382.5 cm (E)

Accession number

1257254

Acquisition method

bequeathed by Ralph Bankes, 1981

Work type

Painting

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Normally on display at

National Trust, Kingston Lacy

Wimborne Minster, Dorset BH21 4EA England

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