Sunday, June 6

Danae by Gustav Klint - an hommage

I did a homage to Klimt's Danae, 1907-1908, with this picture I took at Second Life. This is the story of Danae according to this site: "Danae was a legendary princess of Argos. Her father, Acrisius, who had been warned by an oracle that her son would one day kill him, had decided to keep her locked her in a bronze tower away from any male company.
Zeus, who loved Danae, turned himself into a shower of gold and came to the despondent princess through the roof. The shower of gold poured down into her lap; as a result she had a son. When Acrisius discovered Perseus, he locked both mother and son in a chest, and set it adrift on the sea. Eventually Danae and Perseus were rescued. In his sensual portrait of Danae, Klimt depicts the imprisoned princess in an amorous embrace with Zeus. True to the legend, the latter is represented as an amorphous stream of gold. Many other painters tackled the subject. They include: Danae : Corregio, Artemisia Gentileschi, Mabuse, John Waterhouse, Joachim A. Wtewael, Edward Burne-Jones, Giovanni B. Tiepolo"
(click at the right image to enlarge)