“leda And The Swan,” Oil On Canvas, Surrealist Painting, 20th Century Era

“Leda and the Swan,” oil on canvas, surrealist painting, 20th century era

The painting shown is an oil on canvas in the Surrealist style, entitled “Leda and the Swan.”

The subject draws inspiration from the famous Greek myth, reinterpreted in a modern, dreamlike way.

Measurements: H 100 x W 80 cm.

Period: probably mid or second half of the 20th century.

The work depicts an intensely symbolic scene:

A nude female figure, identifiable as Leda, is abandoned in a gesture of ecstasy or surrender, her eyes closed and her arms raised behind her head.

In front of her, a large white swan - a symbol of Zeus, who according to myth transformed himself into this animal to seduce or possess her - approaches her in an ambiguous, almost human embrace.

The pictorial stroke is soft but firm, with a controlled use of light to emphasize the volumes of the bodies and the contrast between the swan's white and the woman's flesh. The forms are plastic, but with a sense of suspension typical of surrealism.