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Medea Rejuvenating Aeson

ca. 1760
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 643
An inscription on the back of this canvas identifies it as a sketch executed by Giaquinto when he worked in Madrid as a designer for the Royal Tapestry Manufactory of Santa Barbara. The tapestry, probably destined for a Spanish royal residence, was never produced. The subject is taken from Ovid’s Metamorphoses and depicts the sorceress Medea in the foreground, casting spells to rejuvenate the body of her husband’s father, Aeson. Two altars burn with sacrifices, including a black sheep. Medea has also summoned the moon, represented by the goddess Diana, identified by the crescent moon on her head.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Medea Rejuvenating Aeson
  • Artist: Corrado Giaquinto (Italian, Molfetta 1703–1766 Naples)
  • Date: ca. 1760
  • Medium: Oil on canvas
  • Dimensions: 29 x 21 1/2 in. (73.7 x 54.6 cm)
  • Classification: Paintings
  • Credit Line: Purchase, University Place Foundation Gift, 2011
  • Object Number: 2011.82
  • Curatorial Department: European Paintings

More Artwork

More Artwork
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Aeneas and Siblyl, Corrado Giaquinto Italian, Pen and brown ink, with brush and gray wash, over traces of black chalk
Aeneas and Siblyl
Corrado Giaquinto
1703–66
Study of a Nude Man, Corrado Giaquinto Italian, Red chalk on off-white paper
Study of a Nude Man
Corrado Giaquinto
1753
Military Cavaliers Entering Town Accompanied by a Turbaned Torch-bearer. In the foreground: Two Seated Women and a Child (recto); Several Cooks, and Two Pages with a Platter in a Kitchen Yard (verso), Corrado Giaquinto Italian, Pen and gray ink, and black chalk, on beige laid paper
Military Cavaliers Entering Town Accompanied by a Turbaned Torch-bearer. In the foreground: Two Seated Women and a Child (recto); Several Cooks, and Two Pages with a Platter in a Kitchen Yard (verso)
Corrado Giaquinto
1703–66
Saint Joseph Presented by the Virgin to the Holy Trinity, Corrado Giaquinto Italian, Red chalk, pen and brown ink, brush and brown wash, highlighted with white
Saint Joseph Presented by the Virgin to the Holy Trinity
Corrado Giaquinto
ca. 1735
The Penitent Magdalen, Corrado Giaquinto Italian, Oil on canvas
The Penitent Magdalen
Corrado Giaquinto
ca. 1750

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