Mythology Paintings

[mythologypaintings]

The Triumph of Bacchus

Artist: Nicolaes Moeyaert (Dutch, 1592/1593-1655)

Date: 1625

Medium: Oil on panel

Collection: The Mauritshuis, The Hague, Netherlands

Description

Bacchus is the god of fertility and debauchery. Here he sits naked atop a large barrel of wine that is being pulled along by two snarling panthers. It is a joyful and rowdy procession – Bacchus’s entourage are knocking back the wine. Although it isn’t agreeing with everyone: on the right a satyr can be seen vomiting. Standing behind him is a knight in armour and an old, gout-ridden man. With this, the painter is warning of the ill effects of drink: war and sickness lie in wait.

[mythologypaintings]

Zeus and Callisto

Artist: Joseph Heintz the Elder (Swiss, 1564-1609)

Date: ca. 1603

Medium: Oil on copper

Collection: Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna, Austria

Description

Depicted one of the love affairs of Zeus, the father of the gods, who is represented by the eagle with a bundle of lightning bolts. The dogs, as well as the bow and arrow, suggest that this is the story of the nymph Callisto, whom Zeus approached in the guise of the huntress goddess Artemis.

[mythologypaintings]

Venus and Adonis Hunting

Artist: Marcantonio Franceschini (Italian, 1648–1729)

Date: After 1698

Medium: Oil on canvas

Collection: Liechtenstein. The Princely Collections, Vaduz–Vienna

[mythologypaintings]

The Judgment of Paris

Artist: Cornelis Cornelisz. van Haarlem (Dutch, 1562-1638)

Date: ca. 1585-1595

Medium: Oil on panel

Rhode Island School of Design Museum, Providence, RI, United States

Description

The painting depicts the Greek myth where the Trojan shepherd Paris chooses Venus as the fairest goddess by awarding her a golden apple.

[mythologypaintings]

Perseus and Andromeda

Artist: French or Venetian School

Date: c. 1727-1760

Medium: Oil on canvas

Collection: Royal Albert Memorial Museum and Art Gallery, Exeter, England

Description

In the famous story from Greek mythology, Andromeda is chained to a rock on the shore as a sacrifice to a sea monster sent by Poseidon, God of the Sea. The hero Perseus appears on horseback just in time to save Andromeda from her death. Eros (Roman: Cupid) has also appeared situated between them both as a sign of there intense desire for each other. Perseus is depicted with wings on his ankles.

[mythologypaintings]

Venus and Adonis

Artist: Nicolas Poussin (French, 1594-1665)

Date: c. 1628

Medium: Oil on canvas

Collection: Rhode Island School of Design Museum, Providence, RI, United States

Description

French history painters relied on the literature, philosophy, and art of the ancient world as dominant resources. In this story, Venus has been pierced by Cupid’s arrow and fallen in love with the beautiful young hunter Adonis. They lie in each other’s arms, unaware that the clouds that shade them also portend danger. At left, a band of mischievous cherubs restrains a rabbit that will ultimately be killed by Adonis’s ferocious dog. Despite Venus’s warnings, Adonis also will die soon, the victim of an attack by a wild boar.

[mythologypaintings]

Zephyr and Flora

Artist: Michel II Corneille (French, 1642-1708)

Date: c. 1668

Medium: Oil on canvas

Collection: Palace of Versailles, Paris, France

Description

Zephyr and Flora pair the Greek god of the west wind with the Roman goddess of flowers, representing spring's rebirth. In mythology, Zephyr (or Zephyrus) wins the nymph Chloris and transforms her into Flora, granting her power over blooms.

[mythologypaintings]

Neptune and Amymone

Artist: Charles-André Van Loo (French, 1705-1765)

Date: 18th century

Medium: Oil on paper mounted on wood

Collection: Louvre Museum, Paris, France

[mythologypaintings]

Love Leaving Psyche

Artist: Charles-André Van Loo (French, 1705-1765)

Date: 1744

Medium: Oil on canvas

Collection: Palace of Versailles, Paris, France

Description

In the classic myth of Cupid and Psyche from Apuleius's ancient novel Metamorphoses, the god of love (Eros/Cupid) leaves Psyche after she breaks his trust by looking at his face with a lamp. This forces Psyche into exile and sets off her grueling trials.

[mythologypaintings]

Cupid Received by Anacreon

Artist: C.F. Høyer (Danish, 1775–1855)

Date: 1806

Medium: Oil on canvas

Collection: Thorvaldsens Museum, Copenhagen, Denmark

Description

"Cupid Received by Anacreon" is an ancient Greek myth told in the odes of the poet Anacreon. In the story, an old poet opens his door to a freezing child on a stormy night. The child reveals himself to be Cupid, shoots the poet in the heart with an arrow, and proves that even the elderly are vulnerable to love.

[mythologypaintings]

Mars and Venus Surprised by Vulcan

Artist: Alexandre-Charles Guillemot (French, 1786–1831)

Date: 1827

Medium: Oil on canvas

Collection: Indianapolis Museum of Art at Newfields, Indianapolis, Indiana, United States

Description

The story of Mars and Venus Surprised by Vulcan is a mythological tale of passion and revenge about the affair between Venus, the goddess of love, and Mars, the god of war, and their discovery by Venus’ husband, Vulcan, the god of fire and the forge.

[mythologypaintings]

Venus Blindfolding Cupid

Artist: Vecellio Titian (Pieve di Cadore Italian, 1488/1490-1576)

Date: c. 1560-1565

Medium: Oil on canvas

Collection: Borguese Gallery, Rome, Italy

[mythologypaintings]

Cupid and Psyche

Artist: Jacopo Zucchi (Italian, 1540/1541 - 1595/1596)

Date: 1589

Medium: Oil on canvas

Collection: Borguese Gallery, Rome, Italy

Description

The painting represents a famous episode narrated by Apuleius in The Golden Ass (Metamorphoses). The extraordinarily beautiful Psyche decides to discover the identity of her young lover by entering his room carrying a razor and an oil lamp. As she approaches the body of the handsome god, she accidentaly lets fall a drop of boiling oil onto the boy’s shoulder. Upon awakening, he flies away.

[mythologypaintings]

The Return from War: Mars Disarmed by Venus

Artists: Peter Paul Rubens (Flemish, 1577-1640), and Jan Brueghel the Elder (Flemish, 1568-1625)

Date: c. 1610–1612

Medium: Oil on panel

Collection: Getty Museum, Los Angeles, CA, United States

Description

Amid the disarray of Vulcan's forge, Venus leans into the embrace of her lover, Mars, who is transfixed by her alluring gaze. Caught up in his attraction to the aggressively seductive goddess, Mars is no longer able to carry out his military exploits. Venus removes his helmet, while mischievous putti cavort with his sword and shield.

[mythologypaintings]

Toilet of Venus

Artist: Michele Rocca (Italian, c. 1670-c. 1751)

Date: c. 1750

Medium: Oil on canvas

Collection: The Rhode Island School of Design Museum, Providence, RI, United States

[mythologypaintings]

Aeneas Fleeing Troy

Artist: Federico Barocci (Italian, c. 1533 - 1612)

Date: 1598

Medium: Oil on canvas

Collection: Borguese Gallery, Rome, Italy

Description

Aeneas Fleeing Troy depicts the mythological hero escaping the burning city of Troy alongside his father Anchises, son Ascanius, and wife Creusa.

[mythologypaintings]

Oedipus and Antigone

Artist: Christoffer Wilhelm Eckersberg (Danish, 1783–1853)

Date: 1812

Media: Oil on canvas

Collection: The National Museum in Stockholm, Sweden

Description

In Greek mythology Antigone is a Theban princess and a character in several ancient Greek tragedies. She is the daughter of Oedipus, king of Thebes; her mother is either Jocasta or, in another variation of the myth, Euryganeia. She is a sister of Polynices, Eteocles, and Ismene. The meaning of the name is, as in the case of the masculine equivalent Antigonus, “in place of one’s parents” or “worthy of one’s parents”.