Some mythological paintings

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Museo del Prado Museo del Prado Museo del Prado Museo del Prado Some mythological painting Some mythological painting Some mythological painting Some mythological paintings s s

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Some mythological paintings

Transcript of Some mythological paintings

Page 1: Some mythological paintings

Museo del PradoMuseo del PradoMuseo del PradoMuseo del Prado

Some mythological paintingSome mythological paintingSome mythological paintingSome mythological paintingssss

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The Museo Museo Museo Museo del Pradodel Pradodel Pradodel Prado is a museum and art gallery located in Madrid, the capital of

Spain. It features one of the world's finest collections of European art, from the 12th century to the early 19th century, based on the former Spanish Royal Collection.

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The Triumph of Bacchus, or the DrinkersThe Triumph of Bacchus, or the DrinkersThe Triumph of Bacchus, or the DrinkersThe Triumph of Bacchus, or the Drinkers, VelázquezVelázquezVelázquezVelázquez

Seated on a barrel, seminude and wearing grape leaves on his head, the god of wine crowns a young soldier surrounded by a group of drinkers. The treatment of this subject distances itself from the noble tradition of the myth in a naturalistic reinterpretation. There is no lack of paradox between the almost ritual gravity of the figures on the left and the playful irony and realism of the

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group on the right. Stylistically, this work retains the naturalist taste of the artist's time in Seville, along with the colorist influence he assimilated from the work of Rubens and from the sixteenth-century Venetians. By Royal Warrant, Velasquez was paid one hundred ducats for this, his first mythological painting in 1629. Here, he developed a pictorial discourse on the virtues of wine and its capacity to console people from the strife of daily life.

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The rape of ProserpinaThe rape of ProserpinaThe rape of ProserpinaThe rape of Proserpina, by Rubens in 1636, by Rubens in 1636, by Rubens in 1636, by Rubens in 1636----1638.1638.1638.1638.

Pluto, god of the underworld, kidnaps Proserpina, the daughter of the goddess of the Earth, Ceres. In a moment of madness, he pulls her up into his chariot while Venus, Diana and Minerva vainly try to stop him.

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The two cupids pulling the chariot announce Pluto's success. In light of Ceres' anger, Jupiter concedes the kidnapped woman the right to spend a part of the year with her mother, which is when the Earth is happy and produces her fruits. This scene is based on the Greek myth told in Ovid's Metamorphosis (book V), which explains the seasons.

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The three GracesThe three GracesThe three GracesThe three Graces, , , , RubensRubensRubensRubens

According to Hesiod’s Theogony, there were three Graces: Aglaia, which means radiance; Euphrosine, which means joy; and Thalia, which means flowering. Born of one of Zeus’s affairs, the three Graces were pure virgins who lived with

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the gods, served at the banquets and fostered joie de vivre. Rubens depicts them beside a fountain, under a garland of flowers in a landscape. The figures are based on classical sculpture, which is visible in the artist’s effort to reproduce the coldness of marble in their flesh. The circular rhythm and elegant undulation are customary characteristics of this artist, along with the grandiloquent shapes and warm colors he brought into his painting in his final years.

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Achilles discovered by Ulysses among the daughters of Achilles discovered by Ulysses among the daughters of Achilles discovered by Ulysses among the daughters of Achilles discovered by Ulysses among the daughters of LycomedesLycomedesLycomedesLycomedes, , , , RubensRubensRubensRubens

Achilles, disguised as a woman, took refuge at King Lycomedes’court in order to avoid going to the Trojan War where a horrible prophecy predicted his own death while still a young man.

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Ulysses wanted the help of this hero in the fight and thought up a trick to discover him. He came to court in the guise of a merchant, offering so many objects to the ladies on the left who appreciate these jewels and feminine elements. But Achilles takes an interest in a military helmet, which appears on his head in this painting, thus revealing his masculine condition. This is one of the cartoons Rubens made for a series of tapestries based on the life of Achilles. It is characterized by an especially careful design and knowledge of classical Antiquity, and is also a magnificent example of one of Rubens most customary concerns: designs for tapestries.

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Saturn devouring one of his sonsSaturn devouring one of his sonsSaturn devouring one of his sonsSaturn devouring one of his sons, Goya , , Goya , , Goya , , Goya , 1821 1821 1821 1821 ---- 1823 1823 1823 1823

The mural paintings that decorated the house known as “la Quinta del Sordo,” where Goya lived have come to be known as the Black Paintings, because he used so many dark pigments and blacks in them, and also because of their somber subject matter.

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Saturn devouring one of his sons is one of the most expressive images from his Black Paintings. It occupied the wall across from Leocadia Zorrilla on the ground floor of “la Quinta del Sordo.” This mythological god could be the personification of such a human feeling as the fear of losing one's power. The mural paintings from “la Quinta del Sordo” (the Black Paintings), have been determinant in the modern-day consideration of this painter from Aragon. The German Expressionists and the Surrealist movement, as well as representative of other contemporary artistic movements, including literature and even cinema, have seen the origins of modern art in this series of compositions by an aged Goya, isolated in his own world and creating with absolute liberty.

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Saturn devouring his sonSaturn devouring his sonSaturn devouring his sonSaturn devouring his son, , , , RubensRubensRubensRubens Saturn was one of the Titans that ruled the Earth along with his wife, Rea. He is also identified with Chronos, the god of Time. He is depicted with a scythe, which symbolizes how time harvests lives. The three stars in the background allude to the planet of the same name. According to the story in

Ovid's Metamorphosis that inspired Rubens, Saturn killed all his sons in order to keep them from overthrowing him. He was later overthrown and banished by Zeus, his only surviving son.

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Las HilanderasLas HilanderasLas HilanderasLas Hilanderas, , , , VelázquezVelázquezVelázquezVelázquez

The Fable of Arachne (Las Hilanderas) is one

of Velázquez’s last mythological works and one of

his most ambitious and complex compositions.

However, the forty years that separate the two

paintings had not passed in vain, and during this

time the artist became one of the most subtle

narrators of his day. Through colour and aerial

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perspective he succeeded in establishing a very

fluid relationship between the different spatial

planes and integrating the numerous narrative

elements into a whole.The subjects of the scene

are the goddess Pallas and Arachne, a mortal

extraordinarily skilled at tapestry weaving.

In the Golden Age the dispute between Pallas

and Arachne was linked to the idea that nobody is

so expert in their art as to leave no room for future

improvement. The theme was addressed in

treatises on art, and Velázquez probably wished to

update it with reference to the example of Rubens

challenging the work of his predecessor Titian.

The painting explores other art historical

concerns, such as the transformation of matter into

creative form, represented respectively by the

weavers in the foreground and the goddess and

her rival arguing before the tapestry.

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MercuriusMercuriusMercuriusMercurius, Rubens, Rubens, Rubens, Rubens

Mercury, the son of Jupiter and Maya, bears his characteristic attributes as the gods' messenger : a winged hat and shoes, as well as the caduceus, a hazel wand with two serpents wound around it, which Apollo gave him as a symbol of agreement and reconciliation. Rubens has the capacity to

depict on canvas some of the models of classical statuary he studied in Italy.

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Perseus Freeing AndromedaPerseus Freeing AndromedaPerseus Freeing AndromedaPerseus Freeing Andromeda, , , , RubensRubensRubensRubens

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As punishment for the vanity of Cassiopeia, who thought herself more beautiful than the Neriads, Poseidon, god of the seas, sent a monster to the kingdom of Ethiopia. Its fury could only be detained if it received Cassiopeia's daughter, Andromeda.

This painting illustrates the moment when Perseus frees Andromeda from her bounds. He is in love with her, as is made clear by the presence of Cupid with his quiver. Hymen, goddess of marriage, announces this engagement with her customary torch. In the background, Rubens depicts Pegasus, Perseus' steed, alongside the slain monster.

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Promethius, Promethius, Promethius, Promethius, RubensRubensRubensRubens

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The mythological hero, Promethius, was Jupiter's son. He defied the gods by stealing fire from them and giving it to Humanity, to improve their life on Earth. This story is told by Hesiod in his Thogony, and depicted in Ruben's sketch. Here, the artist captures the moment when Promethius looks back, fleeing from heavenly Olympus. Behind him, the ire of the gods is insinuated by the sunbeams that shine through the clouds, later producing the terrible punishment the protagonist is to suffer. Rubens made this panel as a sketch for one of the paintings for the Torre de la Parada, executed by Jan Cossiers.

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Marte, Marte, Marte, Marte, VelázquezVelázquezVelázquezVelázquez

Velazquez painted the god of war sitting with all his military attributes: a flare in the right hand, a morion on his head, and at his feet, his armor, shield and sword. Titian's and Ruben's influences are also visible, especially in the

combination of colors and the rendering of the flesh tones

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La fragua de VulcanoLa fragua de VulcanoLa fragua de VulcanoLa fragua de Vulcano, Velázquez, Velázquez, Velázquez, Velázquez

Wearing a laurel crown and orange tunic, the god Apollo enters Vulcan's forge to warn him that his wife, Venus, goddess of beauty, is having an adulterous affair with Mars, god of war. Apollo, god of poetry and music and knower of the truth, represents the superiority of Art over

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Craft, which is embodied by Vulcan, the Roman god of fire and protector of blacksmiths. This work was totally conceived by Velasquez and wasn't commissioned by anyone. It constitutes praise of artists by raising painting to the level of poetry and music and distancing it from the work of craftsmen.

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1º Bachillerato, IES de Poio1º Bachillerato, IES de Poio1º Bachillerato, IES de Poio1º Bachillerato, IES de Poio References: http://www.artehistoria.jcyl.es/ http://www.museodelprado.es/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saturn_Devouring_His_Son http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Museo_del_Prado

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