Danaë

Jan Gossaert called Mabuse, Danaë, 1527

By Alte Pinakothek, Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen

Alte Pinakothek, Bavarian State Painting Collections

Danaë (1527) by Jan Gossaert gen. MabuseOriginal Source: Object in the Online-Collection of the Pinakotheken

The Oracle of Delphi

The Oracle of Delphi prophesied that King Acrisius of Argos would die at the hand of his daughter's son.

To prevent this, he imprisoned Danae in a 'bronze chamber'.

Zeus, however, approached her in the form of a golden shower and Perseus was conceived, who later killed his grandfather-albeit accidentally.

Adaptations

In the Middle Ages the literary material was seen as a reference to the Annunciation.

Gossaert was one of the first artists to rekindle the original erotic content of this subject.

Credits: Story

© Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen

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