Friend and biographer of Gustave Moreau, his story and works have now all but vanished. Here are some enigmatic Symbolist paintings.
Moreau
Three tasks: yoking the fire-breathing bulls and ploughing in dragon’s teeth to generate an army, then getting past the fleece’s guardian dragon.
After short mentions of Pegasus making a new spring with his hoof-print, and the strange Pyreneus, the Muses tell of their contest with the daughters of Pierus, who were turned into magpies.
Hardly painted before 1800, there has since been a succession of brilliant paintings of this story. Its focus has changed, from the tension as Oedipus tries to answer the riddle, to the femme fatale.
Princess, sorceress, seductress, wife, mother, and vengeful filicide – one of the most complex characters to paint. Known from her letter in Heroides, and a lost work by Ovid.
Wife of Odysseus, here are some fine paintings which tell a little of her side of the story. How she not only remained faithful, but some of the challenges she faced.
A selection of paintings by Memling, Bosch, Blake, Tissot, Corinth, and others to mark Easter.
As interest in his art was declining, he painted some of his finest narrative and mythological narratives. An original and talented artist who deserves to be better-known.
Dancers, fauns, and the inevitable femmes fatales dominated his paintings before the outbreak of war.
Exploring representations of women, from Amazons to Salome, in a series of thought-provoking images.
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