Rembrandt van Rijn - Philemon and Baucis 1658

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Rembrandt van Rijn - Philemon and Baucis 1658

Philemon and Baucis 1658
54x68cm oil on panel mounted on panel
National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, US
The image is only being used for informational and educational purposes

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From National Gallery of Art, Washington:
The Roman poet Ovid’s Metamorphoses provided Dutch artists with a wide range of mythological subjects, most of which contain underlying moralizing messages on human behavior. Rembrandt here depicts the moment when Jupiter and Mercury quietly reveal themselves to the elderly couple Philemon and Baucis, as described in the eighth book of Ovid’s commentaries. Rembrandt, who was able to penetrate the essence of the myth as no artist ever had, silhouetted Mercury against the primary light source to enhance the inherent drama of the moment.