1760 French Old Master Oil Painting on Original Canvas, Greek Mythology

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1760 French Old Master Oil Painting on Original Canvas, Greek Mythology:
$238.50

Lida et Cupidon en attentele cigneZeus(\"Lida and Cupid awaitingthe SwanZeus\")French Old Master Oil Painting onOriginalCanvas, c. 1760.
The conceptof Lida and the Swan is an oft-repeated theme of Greekmythology.In Greek mythology, Leda was daughter of the Aetolian king Thestius, and wife of king Tyndareus of Sparta.Zeus, of course, was the god of the sky and thunder, and the ruler of the gods of Mount Olympus.
Ledawas the beautiful queen of Sparta, the wife of King Tyndareus. The god Zeus, besotted by Leda\'s beauty, determined topossess her, and took on the form of a large swan. The swan, Zeus, was pursued by an eagle, and took refuge in the arms of Leda. Zeus wastedlittle time in completing the seduction.
Their consummation, on the same night as Leda lay with her husband Tyndareus, resulted in two eggs from which hatched Helen (later known as the beautiful \"Helen of Troy\"), Clytemnestra, and Castor and Pollux.Zeuslater commemorated the birth of Helen by creating the constellation Cygnus the Swan, in the sky.She was the mother of Helen of Troy, and Castor and Pollux.
The mythof Leda and the Swangave rise to the popularartmotiffrom ancient times through the ItalianRenaissance and later.Leda and the swanwere popular subjects in ancient art, and have even been found in ancient Roman mosaics.
Thetheme has been frequently repeated throughout art history, in both painting and sculpture.Leda and the Swan was alegendarypainting by Leonardo da Vinci now lost and most likely destroyed.
Versions of Leda and the Swanhave been rendered by many of the art world\'s Old Masters, includingMichelangelo,Correggio,Giulio Campagnola,Peter Paul Rubens,FrancoisBoucher,Hendrick Jansz Terbrugghen, and numerous others, now seen in the world\'s leading museums.
In more recent times, the theme ofLeda and the Swanhasbeen portrayed by PaulCezanne and Salvadore Dali.As recently as 2007, Cy Twombly produced a version of the tale of Leda and the Swan.
Lida et Cupidon en attente le cigne Zeus,offered today, is a wonderful example of the work of the Old Masters.It remains painted on the original canvas, and has never been re-lined.
The viewer ofLida et Cupidon en attente le cigneobserves Cupid, the god of love, identified by his quiver of arrows, at the side of the beautiful reclining Lida. In the right background, the god Zeus, having taken on the guise of a swan, is leaving his heavenly chariot, and descending to his amorous meeting with Leda.
Lida et Cupidon en attente le cigne Zeusrepresents unmatched opportunity to acquire a superb Old Master oil painting of most rare and unusual beauty.
The works of the Old Masters are, of course, increasingly difficult to find and have enjoyed a correspondingly steady rise in prices. Nevertheless, they represent a much more sound investment than the fluctuations of today\'s financial markets. One can sleep much more soundly with an Old Master painting on the wall than a rapidly-declining stock market portfolio represents a marvelous opportunity to acquire a museum-quality original Italian Old Master oil painting at a most modest price of acquisition.
The list of recognized Old Masters is rather long, and includes such names as: Guido Reni, Pieter Bruegel the Elder, El Greco, Meindert Hobbema , Caravaggio, Rembrandt van Rijn, Nicolas Poussin, Johannes Vermeer, Joshua Reynolds and numerous others.
Lida et Cupidon en attente le cigne Zeushas recently been acquired in thesouth of France,via a long-established dealer of unquestioned standing.Prior to the present,Lida et Cupidon en attente le cigne Zeushad hung for generations in the chateau of a noble family.
Lida et Cupidon en attente le cigne Zeus, offered today, measures 38 1/2 inches x 33 inches framed, and 29 1/4 inches x 24 inches unframed.
Gilt antique frame is massive, heavy and a thing of beauty in itself.
Please write with any questions or comments regardingLida et Cupidon en attente le cigne Zeus,and please inspect my other offerings, on and on my site.
Lida et Cupidon en attente le cigne Zeusis offered at an extremely minimal reserve, for an important Old Master oil painting, in traditional 10-day sale fashion.
My main stock in trade are original antique oil paintings. I specialize in fine 18th through 20th century, Old Master and Orientalist paintings, in all price ranges.
Please also visit my other paintings on , and also at: johnbluebottlefineart
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