A Satyr and Two Maenads Removing a Splinter, Claudius Carl Gustav Klingstedt, 1713, Gouache on ivory I love the fact that one of the satyrs is wearing spectacles and that two of the figures are looking straight at us. The fourth wall is broken creating an alarming composition that invites us to spy on an…
Category: Painting
The Maenads and Satyrs of Jules Scalbert
Maenads were originally nymphs, and later human Priestesses who carried on the traditions of their Foremothers in dance, song, feasting, free sexual expression, and ritual. Jules Scalbert was a student of Isidore Pils and Henri Lehmann, both masters of 19th-century historic genre painting. Like his teachers, he was drawn to mythology, religion, and history, using…
Sleeping Diana Watched by Two Fauns
Arnold Böcklin (1877/85) The contrast between the bright luminescent Goddess of Hunting Diana, champion of chasteness, and the in part lecherous, in part fearful furry fauns watching her could hardly be greater. Their hands almost meet in the center of the canvas, but the rear faun just manages to hold back his companion in time….
Sala di Amore e Psiche
Giulio Romano (1524) The fresco on the western side wall represents the wedding banquet to celebrate Amore and Psiche’s wedding. Satyrs and voluptuous young women join together to enjoy the party and mingle with some characters drew from Federico’s real guests. In this way, Giulio Romano is able to mirror in Apuleio’s myth the Gonzaga family and…
Exploring the Myth of Jupiter and Antiope (Part II)
Jupiter’s seduction of Antiope is a frequent theme in western painting and has been treated by Titian, Van Dyck, Watteau, and David among others. They are based on the story of the seduction of Antiope by the god Zeus in Greek mythology, later imported into Roman mythology and told of the god Jupiter. According to this…
Pagan Festivities in an Italian Garden
North Italian School, 17th century Private ownership, South Germany. The work shows Venus and Cupid with an attendant and a Satyr in a lush Italian garden. The architecture of the villa in the background of the piece is clearly inspired by the work of Andrea Palladio. The unidentified Italian creator of this painting was probably…
Exploring the Myth of Jupiter and Antiope (Part I)
The story of Jupiter and Antiope is often used in art. Antiope was a beautiful girl, whom Jupiter, in the form of a satyr, wooed and won. She is usually represented as sleeping after her exertions in the Maenad dances, when approached by the Olympian king. The two most famous pictures dealing with the legend…
Satyr and Nymph by Géricault
Jean-Louis André Théodore Géricault (French: 26 September 1791 – 26 January 1824) was an influential French painter and lithographer, known for The Raft of the Medusa and other paintings. Although he died young, he was one of the pioneers of the Romantic movement. (Source Princeton University Art Museum) Medium: Black chalk, brown wash, white gouache…
Satyr Playing the Pipe (Jupiter’s Childhood)
Jacob Jordaens c.1639 In the foreground stands the powerful figure of a satyr playing the flute with a melancholy air in an arcadian environment. This type of vigorous and naked figure, related to the classical and mythological world, is a recurring theme in Jordaens’ work. This painting highlights the skill of the painter. Long vibrant brushstrokes…
Landscape with Nymph and Satyr Dancing
Creator: Claude Lorrain Date Created: 1641 Near a majestic temple ruin, a flute-playing shepherd and his companion make music with some nature spirits. One nymph beats a tambourine while the other dances with a satyr—rather warily, in view of the latter’s leer and lustful nature. The light that streams through the columns, leaving most of the…
Frisky Satyr 