Artwork Page for Leda and the Swan

Details / Information for Leda and the Swan

Leda and the Swan

c. 1846–83

Adolphe Yvon

(French, 1817–1893)
Culture
France, 19th century
Medium
Charcoal and gouache with touches of pastel
Support
Brown wove paper
Measurements
Sheet: 39.7 x 54.5 cm (15 5/8 x 21 7/16 in.)
Credit Line
Bequest of Muriel Butkin 2015.451
Public Domain
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Location
Not on view
Print

Description

In the late 1520s Michelangelo made a painting depicting Leda and the swan, a mythological story in which Zeus assumes the form of a swan to seduce the mortal woman Leda, producing two children with her. Michelangelo’s version was undeniably more erotic and sensuous than most previous treatments of the subject, as well as more famous. Although the original was lost, several copies of the composition were made from a cartoon (full-scale drawing) that was taken to France by one of Michelangelo’s pupils in the 1530s. This drawing by Adolphe Yvon suggests that Michelangelo’s distinctive sensual rendering of the subject persisted into the 1800s.

Leda and the Swan

c. 1846–83

Adolphe Yvon

(French, 1817–1893)
France, 19th century

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