Bloemaert’s Moody Greek Drama Unfolds
Christie's
This depiction of a nude Denaë
locked away in her bronze chamber by her father, Zeus, upon learning his
grandson may kill him could be considered risqué for a typically conservative
painter in the 17th Century. Abraham Bloemaert's A
mythological scene, perhaps Venus and Cupid appears to feature a generic
reclining nude. But this figure, the future mother of the cursed Perseus, in
the company of Cupid, looks unprepared for the Sun God’s visit in a shower of
gold before he ships her and her son off to sea in a chest!
Christie's
