Leda and the Swan
Artist: Style of Pier Francesco Mola (Italian, 1612 - 1666)
Original Dimensions: 15 1/4" x 19 3/4"
Location: National Gallery of Art, London
About Artwork: (Probably 1650-66) "The story of Leda and the Swan is a Greek myth which exists in various versions. Leda, the wife of the king of Sparta, was loved by the god Jupiter (Zeus in Greek) who transformed himself into a swan and seduced her. As a consequence she gave birth to the twins Castor and Pollux, who were hatched from eggs. This small erotic painting was clearly intended for a patron’s private enjoyment. The subject had been popular in art since the Renaissance: a painting of the subject by Michelangelo, of which Leda and the Swan (also in the Gallery’s collection) is a copy, was widely known through a sixteenth-century engraving. The poor condition of the picture makes it difficult to be certain that Mola painted it, but its style is close to that of his mature works." - (National Gallery of Art, London)

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