French School; 18th century

French School, Circle of JEAN LOUIS FRANÇOISE LAGRENÉE (Paris, 1725 - 1805); second half of the 18th century.
"Danae receiving the golden rain".
Oil on canvas. Relined.
Measurements: 84 x 94,5 cm; 100 x 109 cm (frame).
The princess of Argos is half lying on a divan, peacefully directing her gaze upwards where an inconcrete golden light is located, from which golden drops flow. The young woman receives the golden rain in a serene way, barely covered by a white sheet that covers her chest, she has left her shoes on the floor, as if they had fallen off without her noticing. Next to the young woman lying on the right side, her maid takes her apron to catch the drops of Zeus himself, turned into rain. It is interesting to note how in this case the posture of the maid, largely reminiscent of the works of Titian, as in the work found in the Apsley House, however, in this case the author does not play with the hallmarks generated between opposites such as youth and old age, poverty and wealth. According to Greek mythology, and following the writings of Ovid's Metamorphoses, the legend tells how Danae's father, Acrisius consulted the oracle on how to have sons, however, the oracle told him that his daughter would give birth to a son who would kill him. Acrisius locked and protected his daughter Danae in a dungeon or perhaps in a room in a windowless tower, depending on which mythological account is used as a source. Danae, aware of the consequences, allowed herself to be seduced and impregnated by Zeus, who broke through the defenses by appearing in the form of a shower of gold. When Acrisius learned of the birth of Danae's son, Perseus, he refused to believe in Zeus' role and cast mother and child adrift in the sea. Finally, they arrived at Seriphus, where Perseus was raised by Dictys. Perseus finally fulfilled the prophecy by killing Acrisius years later, albeit accidentally.
Due to its technical characteristics the work is largely reminiscent of the artistic production of Jean Louis Françoise Lagrenée. Brother of the also painter Jean-Jacques Lagrenée and disciple of Carlo Vanloo, Louis-Jean-François Lagrenée specialized in painting mythological, historical and religious themes, which he worked preferably in small or medium format paintings. In 1749 he won the Grand Prix de Rome, although he only stayed there for one year, in 1754. In Italy he became interested in the work of the baroque classicist Domenichino, copying his fresco "Santa Cecilia", and visited Naples. On his return to France, in 1755, he was appointed member of the French Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture for his composition "The Rape of Deyanira", inspired by the work of the same title by Guido Reni, another master of the Italian baroque classicist. He later visited St. Petersburg at the invitation of Empress Elizabeth, where he was appointed director of the city's Academy between 1760 and 1762. On his return to France he was appointed professor by the French Academy, and between 1781 and 1787 he held the position of director of the French Academy in Rome. In 1804 Napoleon awarded him the Cross of the Legion of Honor, and a year later he died at the Louvre, of which he was honorary curator. Lagrenée was influenced by Italian classicism, but his work also draws on that of the great representatives of the French school of the time of Louis XIV, as well as E. Le Soeur and L. de Boullogne, history painters. Together with J.M. Vien, he initiated a change within the Rococo aesthetic that dominated French painting at the time, without however taking the definitive step towards Neoclassicism. Lagrenée is currently represented in this museum, as well as in the Detroit Institute of Arts, the Prado Museum and other important collections around the world.