- Danaë (Rembrandt painting)
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Danaë Artist Rembrandt Year 1636 Dimensions 185 cm × 203 cm (73 in × 80 in) Location Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg Danaë is Rembrandt's painting from the collection of Pierre Crozat which from the 18th century resides in the Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg, Russia. It is a life-sized depiction of the character Danaë from Greek mythology, the mother of Perseus. She is presumably depicted as welcoming Zeus, who impregnated her in the form of a shower of gold. Given that this is one of Rembrandt's most magnificent paintings, it is not out of the question that he cherished it, but it also may have been difficult to sell because of its eight-by-ten-foot size.[1] Although the artist's wife Saskia was the original model for Danaë, Rembrandt later changed the figure's face to that of his mistress Geertje Dircx.
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Vandalism
On June 15, 1985 Rembrandt's painting was attacked by a man later judged insane; he threw sulfuric acid on the canvas and cut it twice with his knife.[2] The entire central part of the composition was turned into a mixture of spots with a conglomerate of splashes and areas of dripping paint. The worst damage was to the face and hair of Danaë, her right arm, and legs.[2]
The process of restoring the painting began the same day. Following consultations with chemists, art restorers began washing the surface of the painting with water; they kept the painting in the vertical position, and sprayed water at the painting to prevent further degradation of the painting.
The restoration of the painting was accomplished between 1985 and 1997 by staff of the State Hermitage's Laboratory of Expert Restoration of Easel Paintings: Ye. N. Gerasimov (group leader), A. G. Rakhman, and G. A. Shirokov, with the participation of T. P. Alioshina in matters of scientific methodology.
See also
Sources
- ^ Crenshaw, Paul (2006). Rembrandt's Bankruptcy: The Artist, his Patrons and the Art Market in Seventeenth-Century Netherlands. Cambridge University Press. p. 72. ISBN 0-521-85825-0. http://books.google.com/books?id=vat8JSgqjVUC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_v2_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false.
- ^ a b Sluijter, Eric Jan (2006). Rembrandt and the Female Nude. Amsterdam University Press. p. 221. ISBN 978-90-5356-837-8. http://books.google.com/books?id=8FFH0vMv3DYC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false.
External links
Rembrandt The Stoning of Saint Stephen (1625) · Jacob de Gheyn III (1632) · Andromeda Chained to the Rocks (1631) · The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp (1631) · Old Man with a Gold Chain (c. 1631) · Philosopher in Meditation (1632) · The Abduction of Europa (1632) · The Storm on the Sea of Galilee (1633) · Artemisia (1634) · Descent from the Cross (1634) · Belshazzar's Feast (1635) · The Prodigal Son in the Tavern (c. 1635) · Danaë (1636) · Night Watch (1642) · The Woman Taken in Adultery (1644) · The Mill (1645-1648) · Susanna and the Elders (1647) · Hundred Guilder Print (1649) · Self-portrait (1652) · Aristotle Contemplating a Bust of Homer (1653) · Bathsheba at Her Bath (1654) · Virgin and Child with a Cat (1654) · Self-portrait (1658) · Self Portrait with Beret and Turned-Up Collar (1659) · Self-portrait (1660) · The Three Crosses (1660) · Ahasuerus and Haman at the Feast of Esther (1660) · The Conspiracy of Claudius Civilis (1661) · Syndics of the Drapers' Guild (1662) · The Jewish Bride (1664) · Self Portrait with Two Circles (1665–1669) · The Return of the Prodigal Son (1662–1669)Attribution disputed: The Polish Rider (1655)Other: Rembrandt lightingCategories:- Rembrandt paintings
- 1636 paintings
- Vandalized works of art
- Paintings of the Hermitage
- Paintings depicting Greek myths
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