"Leda" by Gustave Moreau

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Leda

Gustave Moreau

1876

Watercolor on paper

34 x 21 cm.

"The theme of 'sacred marriage' or as he himself called it the 'consecration', first appeared in his work with Leda, about 1865, at the same time as the Orpheus theme. An uncompleted version in oil and tempera of Leda in the Musée Gustave Moreau, which the critic Jean Laran described as 'one of Moreau's most supple and most graceful nudes', should be compared with the painter's own commentary: 'The god manifests himself, thunder rolls, earthly love flees afar. The swan-king, with his sombre expression, lays his head on the head of the white figure, completely withdrawn into herself in the hieratic pose of the humble initiate receiving divine consecration. Immaculate whiteness beneath divine whiteness. The incantation is consummated, the god penetrates and is incarnated in this pure The mystery is accomplished.'"

[Continued below]

"In spite of the solemnity of this encounter in Moreau's mind, it would not be straining its interpretation to claim that he also considered the metamorphosis of the god into a swan or bull (in the second story, the comparison with Pasiphae's misadventure was inescapable) as a privilege allow- ing him to satisfy the animal sensuality of woman." — José Pierre, pp. 127-28.

Compare this interpretation of the Leda theme to these same art historian's view of Jupiter and Semele.

Bibliography

Paladilhe, Jean, and José Pierre. Gustave Moreau. Trans. Bettina Wadia. New York: Praeger, 1972.

[This volume actualy contains two separate studies, the first Paladilhe's "Gustave Moreau: His Life and Work" (pp. 1-72); the second Pierre's "Gustave Moreau through the eyes of succeeding generations" (pp. 73-171).

Aesthetes
Decadents

Painting

Gustave
Moreau

Last modified 11 April 2008