greek mythology with its amorous gods and intricate plots inspired many artists’ imagination. one such tale is the story of danae. she was banished by her father to a faraway cave as it was prophesied that her child would kill him. alas, his efforts were in vain as zeus arrived in a mist of golden ray before her and impregnated danae. their child, perseus, was born soon after.
the paintings always depict the moment of zeus’ arrival.
jan gossaert’s danae
titian’s danae
tatiana chirikova’s danae
rembrandt’s danae
and my favourite danae painting, klimt’s danae. he captured the dreamy surrealism so tenderly, and subtly mixed the eroticism in with zeus’ ray of light snaking between her virgin legs.
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philters said on Jan 08 07 at 10:04 amsounds a bit like the prophesy of oedipus, no?
philters said on Jan 08 07 at 10:06 amsounds a bit like the story of oedipus, no?
nyx said on Jan 08 07 at 11:09 amhmm… oedipus was prophesied to kill his dad and marry his mum. as far as i can remember, another famous prophesy in greek mythology is the birth of zeus. his father, cronus, was prophesied to be killed by his own child. from then on he ate all his newborns. zeus however, was taken into hiding until he was old enough to fulfill the prophesy.
actually danae’s story reminded me of kunti in mahabharata, she was impregnated by the God of Sun, Surya.
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