The Rape of Ganymede by Jupiter in the guise of an eagle carrying him into the heavens, his dog barking below
Medium
Engraving
Dimensions
Sheet: 16 3/4 × 10 15/16 in. (42.5 × 27.8 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, 1950
Accession Number
50.567.25
Tags
Art Historical Context
In the grand tradition of Renaissance mythology, *The Rape of Ganym* captures a dramatic moment from Ovid's *Metamorphoses*: the Trojan shepherd boy Ganymede, seized by Jupiter (Zeus) disguised as an eagle, is whisked to the heavens to serve as the gods' cupbearer. Below, his loyal dog barks in futile protest, adding pathos to the scene. Designed by Michelangelo Buonarroti around 1542 and masterfully engraved by Nicolas Beatriz, this print exemplifies the High Renaissance master's fascination with dynamic male nudes and anatomical perfection, bridging his sculptural prowess with the printed me...
About the Artist
Michelangelo Buonarroti|Nicolas Beatrizet · 1475–1564
Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni (1475–1564) stands as the quintessential figure of the Italian High Renaissance, a sculptor, painter, architect, and poet whose mastery across disciplines embodied the era's humanist ideals. Born on March 6, 1475, in Caprese within the Republic of Florence to a modest family—his father, Lodovico di Buonarroti Simoni, served as a minor magistrate—Michelang...