When the centaur Nessus tried to abduct Hercules’ wife, he was impaled by an arrow. He set up the later death of the hero, who was destroyed by poison in his own arrow.
Pollaiolo
Charon ferrying the dead to the Underworld, and rarely back again, Psyche in her quest, the centaur Nessus, and lots of sheep and cattle.
A simple story of an unsuccessful attempt at abduction and rape becomes a compositional struggle. It also results in the death of Heracles.
Six of the best stories and the finest paintings from the first half of Metamorphoses, from Daphne’s transformation into the laurel, to Echo and Narcissus.
Some stories sound plausible, but are problematic when you try to paint or photograph them. Here’s a good example, with attempted solutions by Reni, Rubens, Moreau, and others.
The Eclectic Light Company 