Aurora and Cephalus
Medium
oil on canvas
Dimensions
unframed: 22.8 × 16.8 cm · framed: 34.9 × 29.9 × 7 cm
Classification
Painting
Department
Modern European Painting and Sculpture
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Gift of the Painting and Drawing Society of The Cleveland Museum of Art
Accession Number
2002.101
Tags
male
About this artwork
The goddess of the dawn, Aurora, fell in love with the shepherd Cephalus. She eventually seized him at daybreak, bringing him to the heavens while he slept—the scene Girodet has painted here. Later, missing his wife, Procris, Cephalus begs to return. Aurora agrees, giving him a magic spear that kills every target, including his wife, when he mistakes her for an animal in the brush.