Leda And The Swan, French Painter Of The Late 18th

French painter of the late 18th-early 19th century

Leda and the Swan
(Literary source: Metamorphoses by Ovid, Book VI)

Oil on canvas

95 x 126 cm
Framed 109 x 142 cm

This charming painting, originally intended to adorn the rooms of a private residence, depicts the beautiful Leda, queen of Sparta and wife of King Tyndareus, victim of Zeus' deception.

According to the myth, the King of the Gods fell madly in love with her and decided to win her over, but in order to approach her without arousing suspicion, he took the form of a magnificent swan, taking advantage of her vulnerability while she was resting on the banks of the river Eurotas.

The queen, struck by the beauty of the swan, welcomed him into her arms, thus ending up being seduced by Zeus, who joined her: from the encounter, desired by both parties, an egg was born, from which her children Helen and Pollux came into the world.

In Greek mythology, Leda and the Swan is undoubtedly one of the most fascinating stories, inspiring many artists since the Renaissance, with depictions full of eros, where the fusion between the human and the divine is manifested in sensual and ambiguous forms.

In the past, this subject was also attributed great symbolic value, often identified as an allegory of carnal love, and more specifically, the success of this iconography was linked to the transferred image of the coupling between man and woman, covered by the allegory of the myth.

Finally, as regards attribution, this is a splendid work that can be linked to a romantic artist, presumably French, active between the 18th and 19th centuries, who was able to treat this mythological theme with a sensual image of nudity.

In the 18th century, with Neoclassicism, thanks to artists such as Jacques-Louis David, there was a growing interest in the artistic nude, a celebration of ideal beauty, and the representation of the female body gave paintings such as this one an intense and sensual atmosphere. Moving on to the 19th century, nude poses, perhaps combined, as in our case, with pleasant mythological subjects, achieved particularly appreciated results.

In France in particular, women painted through the realism of their bodies conveyed their sensual physicality, such as the models of Courbet and Ingres, modelling them according to the canons of beauty of classical nudes.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

The painting is sold complete with a beautiful 19th-century gilded frame and comes with a certificate of authenticity and a descriptive iconographic card.

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