The Deliverance of Cybele, an Allegory of the Seasons
Medium
Pen and black ink, brush and brown wash, heightened with white gouache, over black chalk underdrawing
Dimensions
25 13/16 x 18 1/4 in. (65.6 x 46.4 cm.)
Classification
Drawings
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Purchase, Van Day Truex Fund and Gift of Lansing Moore, 2002
Accession Number
2002.450
Tags
Art Historical Context
Gabriel François Doyen’s *The Deliverance of Cy, an Allegory of Seasons* (n.d.) captivatingly blends classical mythology with the eternal rhythm of nature. Cybele, the ancient Phrygian earth goddess revered as a symbol of fertility and the wild forces of growth, is dramatically portrayed here amid her iconic lions—fierce guardians evoking the untamed power of the seasons. This Rococo-era drawing reflects the 18th-century fascination with allegory, where divine figures embodied the cycles of renewal, harvest, and winter’s repose, inviting viewers to ponder humanity’s harmony with the natural wo...