Giove e Io (c.1530)

Correggio (c.1489-1534)

Giove e Io (Jupiter and Io)
c.1530
Oil on canvas, 162 × 73.5 cm
Kunsthistorisches MuseumVienna

Jupiter fell in love with Io, the beautiful daughter of the river god. The shy nymph wanted to flee, but the god spread dark mists over the land, stopped the girl’s flight – and united with him. In the love embrace of the devoted nude figure with the atmosphere condensed into a physical structure, a great concern of the Renaissance, the ideal union of man and nature, found its most beautiful expression. Counterpart to the “Abduction of Ganymede” (inv. no. GG_276). (KHM)

Compare:

Correggio (c.1489-1534)
Ratto di Ganimede
c.1530
Kunsthistorisches MuseumVienna