I visited Gubbio, Italy in November last year (2018) and spent some time in the Palazzo dei Consoli Civic Museum. The museum is impressive. It holds the Eugubine tablets, keys to deciphering the Umbrian language, and an extensive collection of archeological and religious artifacts. Tucked away in a small room in one of its many…
Tag: art
Notable Fauns at the Capitoline
I was at the Capitoline Museum in Rome last November. The Capitoline has been on my bucket list for a while now. Despite being in Rome four times in recent years, I never stopped in. This last visit, I devoted a full day to my journey through antiquity. I’ve posted many of my vacation photos…
Satyr Watching Nymphs Dancing
Satyr watching Some Nymphs Dancing, Josep Maria Sert, 1913, Spain. Black and silver grisaille on canvas panel. This panel was part of the painted scheme that Josep María Sert produced for the decoration of Kent House owned by Sir Saxton Noble in Knightsbridge, London. It forms a pair with Apollo flying through the Clouds, also in the Colección…
Satyre by René Lalique
Satyre, Perfume Bottle with Stopper by René Lalique, 1933, Corning Museum of Glass. René Jules Lalique was a French glass designer known for his creations of glass art, perfume bottles, vases, jewelry, chandeliers, clocks, and automobile hood ornaments.
Venus and Satyr with Two Cupids
Venus and Satyr with Two Cupids is a painting by Annibale Carracci. The work is also known as La Baccante. Given the explicit sensuality of the painting, due to the nudity of the goddess, whose buttocks are exposed, a clear sexual allusion was seen in the work, further emphasized by the contrast between the opulent and rosy forms of…
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…
Exploring the Myth of Jupiter and Antiope (Part III)
Antiope by Michael Field (Pseud. for Katharine Bradley and Edith Cooper) NOONTIDE’S whiteness of full sun Illumes her sleep ; Its heat is on her limbs and one White arm with sweep Of languor falls around her head : She cuddles on the lap of earth ; While almost dead Asleep, forgetful of his mirth, A…
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…
Bacchus From Siena
While we were in Siena, we came across a wonderful ceramic shop called Antica Siena located on Piazza del Campo and instantly fell in love with this Bacchus. It’s like he was waiting for us. We bought him instantly and arranged to have him delivered home. The piece is quite large and heavy and would have proved difficult…
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…
Frisky Satyr 