May 10, 2025
Zeus with Hera Expelling Hephaestus (previously called Zeus with Cybele Expelling Chronos)
Artist: Gaetano Gandolfi (Italian, 1734-1802)
Date: 1761-1769
Medium: Oil on canvas
Collection: National Trust Collections, London, England
Description
A naked Zeus, with eagle and thunderbolt with his left foot on the back of a naked boy, Zeus's right hand holds the hand of a goddess, dressed in a plain white dress; putti hold the leg of the falling male figure. This is, as related in Homer's Iliad (1.590) the expulsion of Hephaestus (Vulcan) by Zeus (Jupiter) accompanied by Hera (Juno), gesturing to three gold crowns being held up by putti, whom her son was trying to stop her quarreling with the god.
#mythological art#literature#homer's iliad#mythological scene#mountaintop#zeus#hera#hepaestus#nude figure#goddess#white gown#putti#falling#vulcan#jupiter#juno#crown#clouds#drapery#painting#oil on canvas#fine art#oil painting#artwork#italian culture#italian art#gaetano gandolfi#italian painter#european art#18th century painting
