Orpheus and Eurydice

In the center of the picture, Orpheus leads his wife, Eurydice, out of Hades after having won her release by his enchanting violin playing. Pluto, ruler of Hades, and his wife Proserpine observe their departure from the upper left. The three Fates ominously spin the future at the left, foreshadowing Orpheus's eventual downfall. He broke the one condition that Proserpine had set for Eurydice's return to earth: he could not look at her until they had left the netherworld. On reaching earthly light, Orpheus could not resist a glimpse, and Eurydice vanished forever.



Jean Raoux painted the scene in a highly theatrical manner, spotlighting the figures and arranging them as if on a stage. The action seems especially compressed because the canvas was cut down on all sides early in the twentieth century.