Ganymede Abducted by the Eagle
Encyclopedia
Ganymede Abducted by the Eagle (c. 1531-1532) is a painting by the Italian late Renaissance
artist Antonio Allegri da Correggio. It is housed in the Kunsthistorisches Museum
, Vienna
, Austria
.
The work was part of a series executed by Correggio for Federico II Gonzaga in Mantua
, about the loves of Jupiter
.
. Correggio painted four canvasses in total, although others had been programmed perhaps.
In the first edition of his Lives, late Renaissance art biographer Giorgio Vasari
mentions only two of the paintings, Leda (today at the Gemäldegalerie, Berlin
) and one Venus (presumably the Danae
currently in the Borghese Gallery of Rome
), although he knew them only from descriptions provided by Giulio Romano
. Vasari mentions that the commissioner, duke Federico II Gonzaga, wanted to donate the works to emperor and King of Spain Charles V
: the fact that the other two works, the Ganymede and Jupiter and Io
, were in Spain during the 16th century implies that they were part of the same series. British art historian Cecil Gould
suggested that Federico had commissioned the Io and Ganymede for himself, and that they were ceded them to Charles V only after the duke's death in 1540, perhaps in occasion of the marriage of the king's son, Philip
; other hypotized that Federico ordered them for the Ovid room in his Palazzo Te
In 1603-1604 the painting was acquired by emperor Rudolf II
together with Parmigianino
's Cupid Making His Arch
, and sent to Prague
. The canvas was in Vienna since as early as the 1610s, when it is mentioned in the Habsburg imperial collections together with Io.
Renaissance
The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. The term is also used more loosely to refer to the historical era, but since the changes of the Renaissance were not...
artist Antonio Allegri da Correggio. It is housed in the Kunsthistorisches Museum
Kunsthistorisches Museum
The Kunsthistorisches Museum is an art museum in Vienna, Austria. Housed in its festive palatial building on Ringstraße, it is crowned with an octagonal dome...
, Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
, Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
.
The work was part of a series executed by Correggio for Federico II Gonzaga in Mantua
Mantua
Mantua is a city and comune in Lombardy, Italy and capital of the province of the same name. Mantua's historic power and influence under the Gonzaga family, made it one of the main artistic, cultural and notably musical hubs of Northern Italy and the country as a whole...
, about the loves of Jupiter
Jupiter
Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the largest planet within the Solar System. It is a gas giant with mass one-thousandth that of the Sun but is two and a half times the mass of all the other planets in our Solar System combined. Jupiter is classified as a gas giant along with Saturn,...
.
History
The series of Jupiter's Loves was conceived after the success of Venus and Cupid with a SatyrVenus and Cupid with a Satyr
Venus and Cupid with a Satyr is a painting by the Italian late Renaissance artist Antonio Allegri da Correggio. It is housed in the Musée du Louvre, Paris....
. Correggio painted four canvasses in total, although others had been programmed perhaps.
In the first edition of his Lives, late Renaissance art biographer Giorgio Vasari
Giorgio Vasari
Giorgio Vasari was an Italian painter, writer, historian, and architect, who is famous today for his biographies of Italian artists, considered the ideological foundation of art-historical writing.-Biography:...
mentions only two of the paintings, Leda (today at the Gemäldegalerie, Berlin
Gemäldegalerie, Berlin
The Gemäldegalerie is an art museum in Berlin, Germany. It holds one of the world's leading collections of European art from the 13th to the 18th centuries. It is located on Kulturforum west of Potsdamer Platz. Its collection includes masterpieces from such artists as Albrecht Dürer, Lucas...
) and one Venus (presumably the Danae
Danaë (Correggio)
Danäe is a painting by the Italian Renaissance artist Correggio, executed around 1531 and housed in the Galleria Borghese in Rome.-History:...
currently in the Borghese Gallery of Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
), although he knew them only from descriptions provided by Giulio Romano
Giulio Romano
Giulio Romano was an Italian painter and architect. A pupil of Raphael, his stylistic deviations from high Renaissance classicism help define the 16th-century style known as Mannerism...
. Vasari mentions that the commissioner, duke Federico II Gonzaga, wanted to donate the works to emperor and King of Spain Charles V
Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor
Charles V was ruler of the Holy Roman Empire from 1519 and, as Charles I, of the Spanish Empire from 1516 until his voluntary retirement and abdication in favor of his younger brother Ferdinand I and his son Philip II in 1556.As...
: the fact that the other two works, the Ganymede and Jupiter and Io
Jupiter and Io
Jupiter and Io is a painting by the Italian late Renaissance artist Antonio Allegri da Correggio. It is housed in the Kunsthistorisches Museum of Vienna, Austria.-History:...
, were in Spain during the 16th century implies that they were part of the same series. British art historian Cecil Gould
Cecil Gould
Cecil Hilton Monk Gould was a British art historian and curator who specialised in Renaissance painting. He was a former Keeper and Deputy Director of the National Gallery in London.-Life:...
suggested that Federico had commissioned the Io and Ganymede for himself, and that they were ceded them to Charles V only after the duke's death in 1540, perhaps in occasion of the marriage of the king's son, Philip
Philip II of Spain
Philip II was King of Spain, Portugal, Naples, Sicily, and, while married to Mary I, King of England and Ireland. He was lord of the Seventeen Provinces from 1556 until 1581, holding various titles for the individual territories such as duke or count....
; other hypotized that Federico ordered them for the Ovid room in his Palazzo Te
In 1603-1604 the painting was acquired by emperor Rudolf II
Rudolf II, Holy Roman Emperor
Rudolf II was Holy Roman Emperor , King of Hungary and Croatia , King of Bohemia and Archduke of Austria...
together with Parmigianino
Parmigianino
Girolamo Francesco Maria Mazzola , also known as Francesco Mazzola or more commonly as Parmigianino or sometimes "Parmigiano", was an Italian Mannerist painter and printmaker active in Florence, Rome, Bologna, and his native city of Parma...
's Cupid Making His Arch
Cupid Making His Arch
Cupid Making His Arch is a painting by the Italian late Renaissance artist Parmigianino. It is housed in the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna, Austria.-History:...
, and sent to Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
. The canvas was in Vienna since as early as the 1610s, when it is mentioned in the Habsburg imperial collections together with Io.