Tag: Mythology

Flora (1634)

Rembrandt (1606-1669) Flora 1634 Oil on canvas, 125 x 101 cm Hermitage Museum, Saint Petersburg Rembrandt van Rijn, the greatest artist of the Golden Age of the Dutch school, is represented in the Hermitage with remarkable fullness: besides a superb collection…

Danae (1636)

Rembrandt (1606-1669) Danae 1636 Oil on canvas, 185 x 202.5 cm Hermitage Museum, Saint Petersburg Love undoubtedly also inspired Rembrandt to produce Danaë. The subject was taken from the ancient myth about a princess of Argos, whose father, the king, was…

Helen arriving in Troy (1685-1690)

Lairesse, Gérard de (1641-1711) Helen arriving in Troy c.1685–1690 Oil on canvas, 60 x 67 cm Musée du Louvre, Paris Title: The Landing of Helen led by Paris to the palace of Priam, in Troy Former title: Landing of Cleopatra at…

Hercules between Vice and Virtue (c.1685)

Lairesse, Gérard de (1641-1711) Hercules between Vice and Virtue c.1685 Oil on canvas, 112 x 181 cm Musée du Louvre, Paris The theme comes from the famous apologue of Prodicas, transmitted by Xenophon (Memorabilia, II, 1, 21-34), often represented by painters…

Bacchus and Ariadne (c.1680)

Lairesse, Gérard de (1641-1711) Bacchus and Ariadne c.1680 Oil on canvas, 175.2 x 92.5 cm Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam (on loan from Mauritshuis, The Hague) Ovid described the following scene in his Metamorphoses: on the island of Naxos, Bacchus, the god of wine, chances upon…

Mercury Ordering Calypso to Release Odysseus (c.1680)

Lairesse, Gérard de (1641-1711) Mercury Ordering Calypso to Release Odysseus c.1680 Oil on canvas, 132 x 96 cm Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam During his wanderings, Odysseus encounters the nymph Calypso, who falls in love with him and holds him captive on her island.…

Odysseus and Calypso (c.1680)

Lairesse, Gérard de (1641-1711) Odysseus and Calypso c.1680 Oil on canvas, 125 x 94 cm Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam The Greek poet Homer recounts how the heroic warrior Odysseus found refuge on the island of the nymph Calypso. The Trojan War is over:…

Selene and Endymion (c.1680)

Lairesse, Gérard de (1641-1711) Selene and Endymion c.1680 Oil on canvas, 177 x 118.5 cm Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam The chaste goddess of the moon, Selene (or Diana), is in love with the shepherd Endymion. Only at night when he is asleep does…