He was crushed beneath it, but Galatea transformed him into a river. While Galatea and Acis were resting by the sea, Polyphemus saw them and, in anger, tore a massive boulder from the mountain Etna and threw it on Acis. She falls in love with the mortal shepherd Acis, the son of Faunus, and the river-nymph Symaethis, daughter of the River Symaethus. Galatea was a beautiful Nereid, a sea nymph, a daughter of Poseidon, who married to a one-eyed giant Polyphemus. It is a part of an unfinished series of mythological paintings intended for the Villa's gallery. The Triumph of Galatea by Raphael is a fresco created for the Villa Farnesina in Rome. In the list below, we look at some masterpieces of mythological painting and explore the stories they represent.įeatured image: One of the most famous paintings from art history depicting a scene from mythology, Sandro Botticelli's The Birth of Venus, mid-1480s, detail, Uffizi Gallery, via Creative Commons Social changes also affected cultural affinities Renaissance brought a revival of interest in ancient writings and Greek philosophy paired with the humanist method of study, while Classicism revived the interest in classical forms and styles in art. While artists found inspiration in ancient texts, the surge in popularity of this theme was not just due to individual interests. Mythological paintings make a significant part of art history. Invented to explain specific historical events, beliefs, or natural occurrences, mythological stories are also an inexhaustible source of inspiration for artists. From Achilles to Aphrodita, Diana, Medusa, Minotaur, Paris, Zeus, and Hera, ancient stories inspire with depictions of heroism, love, illicit desires, and human strivings for eternity. Greek and Roman mythology is filled with stories of heroes and anti-heroes, gods and goddesses, and mortals caught in the middle of divine fights.
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