Titian's Danae, (painting)

Object Details

artist

Titian (Pupil of, attributed to)

Titian (copy after)

Appears in exhibition catalog as entry no. 51

"This copy has always been supposed to be the work of a pupil of the great venetian master. The original is in the museum at Naples. The picture was brought to America by Mr. James Bowdoin, of Boston, in 1809. It was given at his death, in 1811, to Bowdoin College, Maine, where it remained till 1850, when it was cleaned and relined by D. Chase, of Boston. In 1855 it was given to Nathan Cummings, of Portland, Me., in consideration of a large subscription he made to the fund for building the college chapel. In May, 1863, he sold it to Geo. Henry Hall, of New York, artist who retouched some injured parts, and with whom for the first time since Mr. Bowdoin's death, it found an appropriate home. " The following is the mythological story connected with it: an oracle had foretold that Danae, daughter of Acrisius, King of Argos, would give birth to a son, who would kill his grand- father. She was immured in a subterranean chamber, but Zeus, who loved her, changed himself into a shower of golden rain and visited her through the roof of her prison. Danae repre- sents the country of Argos; her prison is the heavens enveloped during the gloomy months of winter with thick clouds. Perseus, her offspring by Zeus, represents the light of the sun which returns in the spring and begins its contest with the powers of death and darkness. " Danae is also sometimes regarded as the embodiment of mercenary love. Titian, by painting the gold coins and the astonished cupid in his picture, evidently intends the subject to be considered in this light." [P. 10.]

Louisville Industrial Exposition. Catalogue of Paintings and Statuary 1879. Louisvville, Ky.: Courier Journal and Job Printing Rooms. 1879.

1876

Control number

AECI 03830056

Type

Paintings

Exhibition Catalogs

Pre-1877 Art Exhibition Catalogue Index

Topic

Mythology--Classical--Danae

Figure group--Female & Child

Mythology--Classical--Zeus

State of Being--Phenomenon--Metamorphosis

Mythology--Classical--Cupid

Figure female--Nude

Record ID

siris_aeci_77482

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