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Andrea Schiavone, 'Jupiter seducing Callisto', about 1550

About the work

Overview

While resting in a leafy grove, the nymph Callisto believed she heard the goddess Diana greet her. But it was Jupiter disguised as Diana. Here Callisto seems to realise her mistake. As Jupiter caresses Callisto’s cheek, she places her right hand protectively on her thigh. Her knees bend in a curtsy or a faint and she appears shocked.

The brushstrokes in the fluttering draperies, which look almost like they’re drawn in chalk or pastels, lend a soft decorative beauty to this otherwise disturbing scene. This little painting originally decorated the end of a wooden chest. In the central panel Callisto’s fellow nymphs reveal her pregnancy to Diana (Musée de Picardie, Amiens). Arcas Hunting, for the other end of the chest, tells the final part of the story.

Key facts

Details

Full title
Jupiter seducing Callisto
Artist dates
active about 1530; died 1564
Part of the series
Two Mythological Scenes
Date made
about 1550
Medium and support
oil on canvas
Dimensions
18.7 × 18.9 cm
Acquisition credit
Bought, 1860
Inventory number
NG1884
Location
Not on display
Collection
Main Collection
Frame
20th-century Replica Frame

About this record

If you know more about this painting or have spotted an error, please contact us. Please note that exhibition histories are listed from 2009 onwards. Bibliographies may not be complete; more comprehensive information is available in the National Gallery Library.

Images

About the series: Two Mythological Scenes

Overview

These are two of three paintings made to decorate the front and sides of a wooden chest, known in Italian as a cassone. They depict the story of the nymph Callisto, as told in Ovid’s Metamorphoses. Such chests were important pieces of furniture used for storing clothes and household linen. A bride would be given one by her parents as a wedding gift and she would take it with her to her marital home.

Jupiter seducing Callisto is the first episode depicted. While Callisto was resting in a leafy glade, Jupiter appeared disguised as Diana, goddess of chastity. He seduced Callisto and made her pregnant. In the long painting for the front of the cassone (Musée de Picardie, Amiens) Callisto’s fellow nymphs reveal her pregnancy to Diana. When Diana discovered that Callisto was pregnant, she turned her into a bear. In the third episode of the story the bear is shot dead by Callisto’s son Arcas, who does not realise that it is his mother.

Works in the series

This is one of three mythological scenes to decorate a cassone, or chest, illustrating the story of Callisto as told in Ovid’s Metamorphoses. Jupiter seducing Callisto, also in the National Gallery, decorated the other end.Arcas, son of Jupiter and Callisto, draws back his bow. A bear emerges fro...
Not on display
While resting in a leafy grove, the nymph Callisto believed she heard the goddess Diana greet her. But it was Jupiter disguised as Diana. Here Callisto seems to realise her mistake. As Jupiter caresses Callisto’s cheek, she places her right hand protectively on her thigh. Her knees bend in a curt...
Not on display