Two turned to stone: Battus for betraying Mercury, and Aglauros for obstructing Mercury’s courting of Herse, and her jealousy.
narrative
No less than 6 different stories, 4 transformations, 5 wonderful paintings, all from less than 150 lines of Latin verse.
Rape, ejection from society, transformation into a bear, then into a constellation: poor Callisto, but some superb narrative paintings.
One of the most dramatic and vivid myths, causing a ‘Great Fire’ which matches the Flood. Superb paintings from Rubens, Poussin, Moreau.
Probably the most sustained and brilliant series of narrative paintings since Rembrandt.
Comparison across a selection of his self-portraits and nudes shows how dramatically his style changed through his career.
A triple bill of myths, ingeniously interwoven into a story with four different metamorphoses – and some superb paintings.
Mentor to Gustave Moreau, his brief career showed his brilliance. Claimed by Ingres to be ‘the Napoleon of painting’.
When he died young, in 1891, Moreau was devastated at the loss of his friend. Here are some of his surviving history paintings.
Second and final part to commemorate his death a century ago, with several of his finest paintings.
The Eclectic Light Company 