Orpheus tries to hold on to Eurydice, François Gérard
François Gérard
Orpheus tries to hold on to Eurydice
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Realisation

François Beisson nach François Gérard: Orphée tentant de retenir Eurydice / Orpheus versucht Eurydike festzuhalten, ca. 1791, Kupferstich, abgedruckt in: Publius Virgilius Maro, Bucolica, Georgica et Aeneis, hrsg. von Pierre Didot, Paris 1798 (Mambelli 1954.477)

François Gérard

Orpheus tries to hold on to Eurydice, ca. 1791


Blatt
211 x 155 mm
Physical Description
Black and brown ink as well as watercolour, highlighted with white, on paper
Inventory Number
17622
Acquisition
Acquired in 2017 as a gift from C. and H. B.
Status
Can be presented in the study room of the Graphische Sammlung (special opening hours)

Texts

About the Work

The tragic love story of Orpheus and Eurydice is one of the great myths of classical antiquity. Vergil described it in the "Georgics", Ovid in the "Metamorphoses", and again and again the material inspired musicians, painters and poets from the Middle Ages to the present to new artistic interpretations. Orpheus − distraught by the violent death of his wife Eurydice − goes into the underworld to convince the god Hades with music to give him back his beloved. His wish is granted under the condition that he does not look for Eurydice when he returns through the underworld. But Orpheus doubts, looks back and thus loses Eurydice forever: "And quickly out of his eyes, as smoke disappears into the air, she vanishes," Virgil wrote. It is precisely this moment that Gérard's dramatically exaggerated composition shows. Orpheus' cloak is thrown into sweeping folds by the sudden movement and exposes the antique naked body, tense in its rotation. Eurydice lies motionless in his arms. Elevations in white colour make her body appear deathly pale. And just as Virgil described it, Gérard surrounds her with clouds of smoke that rise into the darkness of the black-tinted rocks. Gérard has masterfully captured the contrast between living and dead in this drawing.

Work Data

Basic Information

Title
Orpheus tries to hold on to Eurydice
Draughtsman
Contractor, employer
Production Place
Period Produced
School
Object Type
Physical Description
Black and brown ink as well as watercolour, highlighted with white, on paper
Material
Technique
Geographic Reference
Production Reason
Label at the Time of Manufacture
Nicht bezeichnet
Captions Added Later
Verso bezeichnet oben rechts (mit Bleistift): GEORG. LIB. IV / par B[ar]on F. Gérard
Verso auf dem Montierungsbogen Stempel der Sammlung Jean Jadot, Brüssel (Lugt 4009)
Watermark
  • Nicht geprüft

Property and Acquisition

Institution
Administration
Collection
Creditline
Städel Museum, Frankfurt am Main
Picture Copyright
Public Domain
Acquisition
Acquired in 2017 as a gift from C. and H. B.

Work Content

Motifs and References

Genre
Main Motif
Persons Shown
Associated Persons and Institutions
Illustrated Passage
  • Vergil: Georgica, 4, 453-527
  • Ovid: Metamorphosen, 10. Buch, Orpheus und Eurydike, 1-105

Iconclass

Primary
  • 94O2122 when leaving the underworld, Orpheus looks back and loses Eurydice for ever
Secondary

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Last update

15.05.2023