Danaë
Orazio Gentileschi, c. 1623
In the myth, Danaë's father feared a prophecy that his grandson would kill him, so he shut his daughter away to keep suitors out. Jupiter, king of the gods, fell in love with her anyway and came to her as gold pouring from the sky.
Orazio Gentileschi took from Caravaggio the practice of painting directly from live models and pulling them to the front of the picture. The Cleveland Museum of Art says this gives the painting a startling, tangible quality. But Gentileschi's handling of paint and gesture is more graceful, and the museum calls it poetic.
The canvas is big, about 162 by 228 centimetres without its frame. The figure of Danaë stretches across almost the whole width.
From the museum record
| Artist | Orazio Gentileschi |
|---|---|
| Date | c. 1623 |
| Medium | Oil on canvas |
| Size | Unframed: 162 x 228.5 cm |
| Museum | The Cleveland Museum of Art |
| Credit line | Leonard C. Hanna Jr. Fund |
| Accession number | 1971.101 |
| Licence | Open Access (CC0) |
Source: The Cleveland Museum of Art collection record. Facts such as dates, sizes and credit lines come from that record. The write-up above was drafted with AI assistance and checked against the museum record and standard references. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.
