The incredible myth of Leda and the swan, the transformation of Phaëthon’s brother Cycnus, King Arthur, Hesiod, Swan Pie and more.
Tintoretto
The satyr Marsyas became an outstanding player of the aulos, and played in a contest against the god Apollo. He can’t win, and ends up being flayed alive.
Goddess Latona gives birth to twins Apollo and Diana, but local peasants refuse to let her drink from their lake, so they’re turned into frogs.
The consequences of pride, when all 14 of Niobe’s children are slaughtered by Apollo and Diane, but she’s unrepentant to the last.
In their heyday, worked elaborately in gold leaf, but lost with the realism of the Renaissance. Revived by the Pre-Raphaelites, and rarely used for secular figures.
How Arachne came to a weaving contest against Minerva, but told the truth about gods and goddess, so was turned into a spider.
Turner’s Ulysses Deriding Polyphemus, banners in Raphael’s and Tintoretto’s paintings of the Passion, and Friedrich’s Swedish flag.
A small selection of favourites from its huge and eclectic collection, from Duccio in about 1310 to Joseph Wright of Derby and a gem from Thomas Jones.
The stories of Venus and Mars, caught in bed together by her husband Vulcan, and the unrequited loves of Leucothoë and Clytie for the Sun.
Daughter of the King of Sparta, abducted as a child by Theseus, rescued by her brothers, married to the King of Sparta, then given as a bribe in a divine beauty contest.
The Eclectic Light Company 