3-002-531 - Heritage Art/Heritage Images

Rinaldo and Armida in the Enchanted Garden, c1581-1611. In 1581, the Italian poet Tarquinato Tasso published Gerusaleme Liberata (Jerusalem Liberated), an instantly popular epic poem based on one of the crusades by Christians to retake the Holy Land. It was written as a romantic fantasy, recounting Satan's efforts to create obstacles for the heroic Christian knights, particularly the noble Rinaldo. The beautiful sorceress Armida enticed Rinaldo to enter the lush garden of her castle. There she keeps him besotted with sensual pleasures. He holds her "crystal mirror" up to her face but declares that her worth and beauty are more perfectly "painted in my heart."