Beautiful Cup-Bearer

Zeus, king of the gods, saw the beauty of Ganymede. Swooping down from Mount Olympus in the form of an eagle, Zeus carried Ganymede off to be the cup-bearer to the gods.

The sculpture at right in marble is on exhibit at the Walters in Baltimore. It is by Claude-Clair Francin (French, 1702-1773) and was made ca. 1777-87. Ganymede's cup is missing from the sculpture, but his right hand curves around so that the viewer is certain he held it. Francin depicts Ganymede with a companionable arm around the neck of the eagle. The two look at each other with an easy, comfortable gaze.

Many other artists, from Correggio in 1531 (left),

Michelangelo in 1533 (drawing below ),

Rembrandt in 1635 (right),

Rubens in 1612 (below)

to Bertel Thorvaldsen in 1817 have depicted Zeus and Ganymede at various points in the story. The artists appear to be interested in the juxtaposition of the human form with that of the eagle, flesh and feathers, softness and sharpness. Whether Ganymede is shown as a child or little boy, as a "teen-aged" youth or a maturing young man, the artists show the human carried in the claws of or supported by the wings of the eagle. In the sculptures, obviously for reasons of balance and support in a three-dimensional medium, Ganymede is shown standing with the eagle (Francin) or kneeling alongside him with the cup. The dominance of the eagle is more clearly seen in the paintings. But in the sculpture, the tone of the image is shifted. The marble Ganymedes appear to treat the eagle more as a beloved pet than with the awe or deference the young man should display towards the king of the gods.

Obviously, the homo-erotic nature of Zeus abducting the beautiful youth to serve him (as well as the other gods especially as seen in the Rubens) has been discussed, analyzed, and written about for ages. Whether these artists chose to include that aspect of the story in their art is also open for debate.

Besides the above, many other artists have created works on this subject. The 20th century poet W. H. Auden, wrote a bit of a different take on Ganymede:

He looked in all His wisdom from the throne
Down on that humble boy who kept the sheep,
And sent a dove; the dove returned alone:
Youth liked the music, but soon fell asleep.

But He had planned such future for the youth:
Surely, His duty now was to compel.
For later he would come to love the truth,
And own his gratitude. His eagle fell.

It did not work. His conversation bored
The boy who yawned and whistled and made faces,
And wriggled free from fatherly embraces;

But with the eagle he was always willing
To go where it suggested, and adored
And learnt from it so many ways of killing.
= = = =

Auden's Ganymede turns the tables on Zeus. The poem has to be read with the symbols of the birds in mind. Zeus first sends the dove -- the traditional symbol of peace and an attribute of Venus, goddess of love. Ganymede falls asleep. Zeus re-evaluates his strategy, goes himself in the form of an eagle, and brings Ganymede to Olympus. But in his true form, Zeus does not impress the young man. Only in the form of an eagle, the traditional symbol of power and war -- the opposite of the dove -- only as an eagle does Zeus keep Ganymede's attention, and in fact, Ganymede's love. It is warfare -- killing -- that Ganymede values most.

If Auden's poem seems to echo the interpretation of any of the earlier artworks, it would have to be that of the Ganymede depicted in bronze by Benvenito Cellini from 1546. Cellini's Ganymede rides the eagle. His upraised arm seems about to strike, ready to back-hand the eagle. This is no passive, beautiful cup-bearer. Cellini's Ganymede has taken charge. Zeus' plans for Ganymede have been changed -- the beautiful dove has turned to the eagle and learned its ways -- perhaps too well.

Symmetrical Judgement

This is the oldest icon in the world. CHRIST PANTOKRATOR (Christ the Judge of All) painted in encaustic (pigments dissolved in hot wax) on wood panel in about the year 550 CE. It is in its original location: the monastery of St. Catherine's on Mount Sinai, in Egypt. Countless reproductions of this image can be found all over the world. Many people have looked at it and felt varying reactions.

Christ holds the Book of Life in His left hand, and gives a blessing with His right hand. Buildings in the landscape behind Him may represent Jerusalem, or perhaps St. Catherine's itself. The cross in His halo is faint, but present. The Book of Life is depicted as a manuscript/codex -- not a scroll -- with a costly bejeweled cover on which a cross is prominent. The main focus is, of course, the face of Christ. The large eyes indicate wisdom and the all-seeing eternal watchfulness of God. The expression on His face is quite solemn. He is not smiling. His gaze is steady and direct. He is not speaking. He does not seem to be "inviting." But this is the Last Judgment. The time for hearing His words is past. At this point the "invitation" has either been accepted or rejected by the viewer.

Further indication of this being a Last Judgment image is seen in a closer examination of Christ's face. If you "dissect" this image, a couple of things become clear. Taking the side of Christ's face on the viewer's left (Christ's right) and duplicating it in a mirror image, the whole face appears thus:

The resulting face is absolutely symmetrical, completely identical on both sides. Reactions to this face are mild. This is not an angry face; this is not a "mean" face. The expression is solemn, perhaps even a bit sad. It is bright, and a curious image of the cross appears on the neck. On the whole the image can be considered benign, kind, reverential.




By taking the other half of the face -- Christ's left -- and duplicating it, we see a completely different image.




Reactions to this face are more unsettled. This is not a happy face. This face appears darker, both in color and in feeling. There appears to be anger here, or great sorrow. The cross in the halo is much more distinct on this side, and the illusion of a demonic face appears on the neck.

Seeing the two sides of the icon as individual works is really only possible in our modern day. The artist who created the icon could never have dreamed of the two halves as independent works. Or could he?

It is interesting to note that Christ's right side appears "good" and light. The left side is "angry" and reminds us more emphatically of the cross. In the Last Judgment "the sheep will be divided from the goats" - - the saved/blessed will be on Christ's right and welcomed into heaven. The damned will be on Christ's left and will be sent to the fires of hell.

The artist who made this icon was extremely aware of the what St. John's Book of Revelation had to say about the Last Judgment. He painted the two halves of the face of Christ in this icon as deliberate depictions of the aspects of the Last Judgment. A viewer would approach this icon with prayers, to be reminded of the coming Judgment and that his/her life should be lived in order that their name be listed in the Book of Life. The viewer would want their life to be in symmetry with Christ so that they would be sure to be on His "good side!"

Venus of Willendorf - Age Before Beauty?

The Venus of Willendorf - - For only four inches of limestone and red paint, she looks pretty good for her age! She dates from 28,000 BCE and is the oldest sculpted human form.

Fertility figure? Perhaps.
The cave-man's ideal of feminine beauty? Perhaps.
Status symbol for the best hunter in the group of neolithic nomads? Perhaps.

Whoever she was, whatever she was, she may be the greatest achievement of artistic development in history. Or perhaps she is just the starting point for countless other images throughout time and into our modern world.

Ancient and 19th Century England

Stonehenge
John Constable (1776-1837)
1835
Watercolour

The first image up for discussion here is this wonderful watercolour by John Constable. Constable painted his England the way England was "supposed" to look -- of course not necessarily the way it actually did. He idealized the landscape that he loved because he loved it.

The subject of this image is Stonehenge -- or is it? Perhaps it is actually an image of Time. The stones are the ruins of the mysterious past. The clouds and the sky are ever changing, perpetually in motion and thus always in the "future" because they cannot have a present and do not exist in the past. The artist paints in his present day. Constable worked during a time of great change in England. The Industrial Revolution was affecting everything -- the air was polluted, buildings were being torn down, people were out of work, machines were in use -- resistance was futile. Except for Constable. He painted his beloved England without all these changes, without all the unrest and disappointment, without the darkness, the dirt and the machines. Constable's landscapes are generally idyllic, showing the land as unchanged and unchanging. But this image of Stonehenge acknowledges great changes wrought by time. Perhaps Constable's sorrow at the state of his (our) modern society is reflected in a picture of the great monument from the past. Perhaps Constable is giving us his vision of a sad future he sees for England.