Die Verspottung der Ceres
Matthias Stom (1589-1670)

Die Verspottung der Ceres,

um 1640/45
Material / Technology / Carrier
Leinwand
Dimensions of the object
175,5 x 220,7 cm
Displayed
AP OG Saal IX
Genre
Malerei
Inventory number
112
Acquisition
Aus der Kurfürstlichen Galerie München
Stock
Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen - Alte Pinakothek München
Citation
Matthias Stom, Die Verspottung der Ceres, um 1640/45, Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen - Alte Pinakothek München, URL: https://www.sammlung.pinakothek.de/en/artwork/Pdxz8EkGw5 (Last updated on 24.08.2023)
Stom, who was born in the Netherlands, spent a great part of his life in Italy, where he was a follower of Caravaggio. This candlelit night scene depicts a tale from Ovid’s ‘Metamorphoses.’ Hades, the god of the underworld, has abducted Proserpina. Her clueless mother Ceres, the goddess of fertility, embarks on her tireless search. She reaches a cabin, thoroughly exhausted, where an old woman gives her some water. A boy mocks Ceres when she hastily takes a drink. To punish him, the goddess turns him into a lizard.

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