Style of Pier Francesco Mola, 'Leda and the Swan', probably 1650-66

The story of Leda and the Swan is a Greek myth which exists in various versions. Leda, the wife of the king of Sparta, was loved by the god Jupiter (Zeus in Greek) who transformed himself into a swan and seduced her. As a consequence she gave birth to the twins Castor and Pollux, who were hatched from eggs.

This small erotic painting was clearly intended for a patron’s private enjoyment. The subject had been popular in art since the Renaissance: a painting of the subject by Michelangelo, of which Leda and the Swan (also in the Gallery’s collection) is a copy, was widely known through a sixteenth-century engraving by Cornelis Bos.

The poor condition of this picture makes it difficult to be certain that Mola painted it, but its style is close to that of his mature works. The best-preserved part of the picture is the landscape on the right, whose sensitive treatment of light may be compared with Mola’s The Rest on the Flight into Egypt, also in our collection. The delicate vase of flowers in the foreground, the ornate bedcover and plump red cushion (whose colour has faded considerably over time) all add to the picture’s decorative qualities.