There’s something magical about this enchanting picture, in its unearthly, misty colours, deep shadows and strange beasts. The musician fixing us with an enquiring eye is Orpheus. His story comes from one of the legends told by the Roman poet Ovid in his book Metamorphoses.
Orpheus' skill was so great that all the beasts and birds came to hear him play. Even the gods themselves listened, beguiled, and the poet tells how the trees moved from the forests to hear him, and to give him shade from the sun.
Savery beguiles us with the animals he paints, taking us to an idyllic landscape where animals, usually hostile to each other, live harmoniously under the influence of Orpheus’ music.
Text extracted from the ‘Provenance’ section of the catalogue entry in Neil MacLaren, revised and expanded by Christopher Brown, ‘National Gallery Catalogues: The Dutch School: 1600–1900’, London 1991; for further information, see the full catalogue entry.
C. Baker and T. Henry, The National Gallery: Complete Illustrated Catalogue, London 2001
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.
