Danaë
Danaë’s father feared a prophecy that his grandson would kill him, so he imprisoned his daughter to protect her from suitors. Yet Jupiter, king of the gods, fell in love with Danaë, and he came to her in the form of gold streaming from the sky. Gentileschi adopted Caravaggio’s method of painting directly from models, pulled to the front of the picture plane, which gives the painting a startling, tangible quality. However, the graceful way he handled paint and human gestures lends the work a poetic quality unique to the artist.
Details
- Palette
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Select a color to find related artworks.
- Medium
- oil on canvas
- Dimensions
- framed: height 2.025 m, width 2.7 m, depth 0.09 m; unframed: height 1.62 m, width 2.285 m
- Origin
- Italy, 17th century
- Department
- European Painting and Sculpture
- Holding institution
- Cleveland Museum of Art
- Image provider
- cleveland-museum-of-art
- License
- CC0-1.0
- Credit
- Leonard C. Hanna Jr. Fund
Art Genome Taxonomy
12 tags
Subject Matter
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Classical Mythology Both · 99%
The title and catalog description identify the mythological story of Danaë and Jupiter, while the image depicts the associated shower of gold and reclining figure.
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Nude Visual · 99%
A prominently nude reclining human figure occupies the foreground of the composition.
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Human Figure Visual · 99%
The composition contains a reclining nude figure and a second winged human figure, both rendered as substantial anatomical forms.
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Narrative Both · 97%
The catalog supplies a specific mythological episode, and the image stages an interaction among the reclining figure, winged figure, bed, and descending gold forms.
Visual Qualities
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Dark Colors Visual · 98%
Deep brown, black, and dark green areas dominate the setting and contrast strongly with the illuminated bodies, white linen, and gold-colored elements.
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Highly Detailed Visual · 93%
The painting gives sustained attention to anatomical modeling, drapery folds, hair, wings, carved furniture, and reflective-looking surfaces.
Medium and Techniques
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Painting Metadata · 99%
The Cleveland Museum of Art classifies the work as a painting.
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Oil Painting Metadata · 99%
The catalog specifies oil on canvas.
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Chiaroscuro Visual · 96%
Strong contrasts between illuminated flesh and fabric and the shadowed background create a pronounced light-dark effect.
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Caravaggesque Metadata · 91%
The museum description explicitly connects Gentileschi’s practice to Caravaggio’s method of painting directly from models brought close to the picture plane.
Time Periods
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17th Century Art Metadata · 99%
The work is dated approximately 1623 and identified as having been made in 17th-century Italy.
Geographic Regions
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Italian Art Metadata · 99%
The artist is identified as Italian and the place of origin is listed as Italy.
Source & rights
Orazio Gentileschi (Italian, 1563–1639). Danaë. Cleveland Museum of Art.