books0977:Dorinda, Wounded by Silvio, Is Sustained by Linco (1802). Samuel Woodforde (English, 1763-
books0977:Dorinda, Wounded by Silvio, Is Sustained by Linco (1802). Samuel Woodforde (English, 1763-1817). Oil on board. Royal Academy of Arts.Woodforde took his subject from Giovanni Battista Guarini’s late 16th-century tragicomedy Il Pastor Fido, a pastoral play that glorified arcadian life. This scene is from the play’s subplot, which concentrates on the love of the nymph Dorinda for Silvio, who cares only for the hunt and is oblivious to her feelings. After one of Silvio’s arrows accidentally wounds Dorinda, she falls into the arms of her guardian, Linco. Silvio, distraught and finally realizing his own love for Dorinda, offers her the arrow so that she can exact revenge by taking his life in return. Dorinda, whose wound is only superficial, wisely rejects his emotional offer. The two lovers are married before sunset that very day. -- source link