Jan Gossaert gen. Mabuse
(1478-1532)
Danae,
1527
Acquisition
Aus der Kurfürstlichen Galerie München
Stock
Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen - Alte Pinakothek München
Citation
Jan Gossaert gen. Mabuse, Danae, 1527, Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen - Alte Pinakothek München, URL: https://www.sammlung.pinakothek.de/en/artwork/7yxYmBnxYm (Last updated on 05.12.2023)
The Oracle of Delphi prophesied that King Acrisius of Argos would die at the hand of his daughter’s son. To prevent this, he imprisoned Danaë in a ‘bronze chamber’. Zeus, however, approached her in the form of a golden shower and Perseus was conceived, who later killed his grandfather—albeit accidentally. In the Middle Ages the literary material was seen as a reference to the Annunciation. Gossaert was one of the first artists to rekindle the original erotic content of this subject.
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