Where Is Danaë? See It at Borghese Gallery, Rome

Q: Who was Danaë?

Danaë was a Greek princess whose father locked her in a bronze chamber. Jupiter visited her as golden rain. Their son Perseus later killed Medusa and accidentally killed his grandfather, fulfilling the prophecy.

Q: What is the shower of gold?

Jupiter transformed himself into a shower of gold to penetrate Danaë's prison. The gold represented divine power taking physical form. Correggio shows it as actual coins falling onto her lap.

Q: Was this painting part of a series?

Yes, Correggio painted four mythological loves of Jupiter for Federico II Gonzaga. The series included Io, Leda, Ganymede, and Danaë, now scattered among different museums.

Italian artist Correggio painted this Danaë around 1531 as part of a series depicting Jupiter's loves. The myth tells how Jupiter visited Danaë as a shower of gold when her father locked her away to prevent a prophecy that her son would kill him. She bore Perseus from this divine union.

Correggio shows Danaë reclining on luxurious fabrics as golden coins stream onto her lap. Cupid assists, lifting her sheet. A small Eros tests an arrow nearby. The sensuous treatment and soft sfumato modeling made Correggio influential on later artists. The painting hangs in the Borghese Gallery.

Danaë was a Greek princess whose father locked her in a bronze chamber. Jupiter visited her as golden rain. Their son Perseus later killed Medusa and accidentally killed his grandfather, fulfilling the prophecy.

Jupiter transformed himself into a shower of gold to penetrate Danaë's prison. The gold represented divine power taking physical form. Correggio shows it as actual coins falling onto her lap.

Yes, Correggio painted four mythological loves of Jupiter for Federico II Gonzaga. The series included Io, Leda, Ganymede, and Danaë, now scattered among different museums.

Danaë

Details

Where to See It

The Artist

More by Correggio

Adoration of the Christ Child

Three Graces

Diana

Madonna and Child with Angels

Also at Borghese Gallery, Rome

Sacred and Profane Love

Young Sick Bacchus

Melissa (Circe)

Pauline Bonaparte as Venus Victrix

Related Renaissance Works

Sistine Madonna

The Birth of Venus

The School of Athens

The Alba Madonna

Venus of Urbino

Venus with a Mirror

Laocoön

Pallas and the Centaur

About Danaë

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