Portfolio › Pleasures of the Gods
PLEASURES OF THE GODS SERIES
From a private collection of Brussels tapestries from the 17th century illustrating stories referred to as ‘The Pleasures of the Gods’. From Urban and Daniel III Leyniers workshop, after Jan Van Orley and Aurel Augustin Coppens.
Apollo and the Muses
Apollo and the Muses (365 x 350 cm) shows Apollo, the embodiment of the classical Greek spirit, and son of Zeus. Here he is portrayed, typically, as a young man, holding a lyre and wearing the crown of laurel leaves he was awarded for achievement in the arts. Apollo was also associated with the Sun-God Helios, who drove his chariot daily across the sky. The chariot in the background and the muse holding the sun may allude to this. As the god of poetry and music, Apollo is often accompanied by the Muses, the goddesses of poetic inspiration and creative arts.
Neptune
Neptune ( 365 x 350 cm) depicts the god of the sea holding his trident, surrounded by nymphs and blowing winds. Beside him is his wife, the sea-goddess Amphitrite climbing from Neptune’s shell shaped chariot which is pulled by mythological hippocampi (part horse, part fish). On one of the hippocampi is sits his son, Triton, blowing a conch horn.
The Pleasures of the Gods are available as
Tapestry Wall Hangings
Printed Linen Panels
