A Man Tormented by Jealousy Takes Revenge on Cupid
Trained in Dijon, Gagneraux won the prix-de-Rome and left in 1779 for Italy, where he would spend the remainder of his career. His contemporaries in Rome included Mengs, Sergel, Fuseli, Canova, and David. While line engravings would be popularized by Flaxman and others, Gagneraux was among the first to adopt this manner of printmaking.
In this etching, Gagneraux depicts a large, powerful man in antique dress. He is tormented by jealousy, represented by a frightening old woman with snakes instead of hair who rides on his back by gripping fistfuls of his hair. He in turn prepares to strike Cupid, who kneels on the ground and raises an arm in self-defense. Gagneroux accentuates the planar quality of the composition by adding a dark background in aquatint. The print is a variant of a smaller format line engraving he made as part of a publication of 18 outline prints in 1792. He has carried over the unusual subject, but altered many details, adding classical sandals to the man and giving a Medusa-like head of snakes to the figure of Jealousy.
In this etching, Gagneraux depicts a large, powerful man in antique dress. He is tormented by jealousy, represented by a frightening old woman with snakes instead of hair who rides on his back by gripping fistfuls of his hair. He in turn prepares to strike Cupid, who kneels on the ground and raises an arm in self-defense. Gagneroux accentuates the planar quality of the composition by adding a dark background in aquatint. The print is a variant of a smaller format line engraving he made as part of a publication of 18 outline prints in 1792. He has carried over the unusual subject, but altered many details, adding classical sandals to the man and giving a Medusa-like head of snakes to the figure of Jealousy.
Artwork Details
- Title: A Man Tormented by Jealousy Takes Revenge on Cupid
- Artist: Bénigne Gagneraux (French, Dijon 1756–1795 Florence)
- Date: ca.1790–95
- Medium: Etching and aquatint
- Dimensions: Sheet: 20 1/4 × 16 3/4 in. (51.4 × 42.5 cm)
Image: 14 1/2 × 13 3/4 in. (36.8 × 35 cm) - Classification: Prints
- Credit Line: The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, 2017
- Object Number: 2017.360
- Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints
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Bénigne Gagneraux
ca. 1789–90
Abraham Bosse
Jean I Leblond
1626–28
Multiple artists/makers
1771, 1764
Gideon Saint
ca. 1760
Heliodorus, of Emesa
Pierre Vallet
1613
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