Saturday 15 May 2010

Leda and the Swan

Leda and the Swan
Mixed media

Leda and the Swan is a myth of ancient past. It is depicted in Greek mythology as a story about the attraction of Zeus for Leda the Spartan queen, who had protected Zeus from a pursuing eagle as he disguised himself in a form of a swan. It is told that one night Zeus came to Leda in this form and seduced her while she lay with her King, Tyndareus. She then bore two eggs from which hatched Clytemnestra, the twins Castor and Pollux, and Helen, later to be known as the beautiful 'Helen of Troy'. Although the legend is often referred to as The Rape of Leda, many great artists such as Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo had portrayed it in such graceful and beautiful manners, revealing passion and emotional correlations between the two subjects.

This mythical story was brought up to my attention by a very intelligent friend whom I've met from blogging. Despite his sometimes puzzling and eccentric comments (^_^), I decided to look up my old college notes (yes, I still have them!) to discover that I had in fact briefly studied it in one of my classes. I suppose the reason for my ignorance would be my tendency to day dream during lecture, as always. Well, either that or I must have fallen asleep :) ... (Yes, yes, thank you, old chap, for the reminder!)

A word of caution: If you decided to visit this friend of mine, make sure you keep your guard at all time, as you may come across pirates and witches or even turned into stone by the gaze of Medusa. And be careful where you click, because you might end up with splinters or seeing 'inappropriate' things! :D

37 comments:

  1. Oh my goodness! This is so beautiful. Makes you feel gentle towards Zeus, the arrogant, unfair and selfish god. I suppose if rape was truly depicted in its real context, it will be painful but since we are talking about myths, really, a swan and a woman, glamorizing zoophilia but the Greeks were something else. However, it does not take away from your beautiful rendition - the swirls! The squiggles. There is such gentleness in your lines. Your characters have a certain trait, their eyes, so gentle, so haunting as if they know something secret that they will not divulge but you will know soon enough if you lingered and opened your senses. The greeks also punished their kings with tasks that we now consider Sisyphian. At least they gave us great medical terms. But it was a macho and male dominated religion where men got away with rape and goddesses exacted their revenge on the innocent like Medussa!

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  2. OOOOOoooooohhhhh!!! Wowwwwwwwww!!! She is a sleeping angel, and he is caressing her ever so gently. Your cloud it wonderful! The beautiful swirls make it look so soft and substantial. Yet underneath is a layer of thorns. Under all those white layers, thorns. You are BRILLIANT!

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  3. This is lovely! Everything is so gentle and I love all the swirls! It truely feels like a magical or mystical moment. Wonderful Amalia!

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  4. Ces, isn't it incredible how Greek mythology and all its outrageous norms and values, domination of men by gods and goddesses, is still so well preserved in our time? It's just amazing how abductions, murders and revenge could be so beautifully wrapped in a some kind of enchanting facade. The whole thing makes great inspirations for art, I tell you that! :))

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  5. Bella, you are such a generous darling... I LOVE it when you write "OOOOOhhhh!!!" and "Wooowwww!!!"... makes my heart expand a few bit! (^___^)

    Maria, thank you! You're too kind :)

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  6. So dreamy! Your color is always so rich and this is rich in it's very selective use of color. Brilliant, you are!

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  7. I just love this! I majored in Classics (ancient Roman and Greek culture) in college, so the title caught my eye! I love Greek mythology, so many fascinating stories and layers to the stories! Very well done depiction, it is gorgeous! :) ~Lauren

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  8. This is classic and beautifully illustrated. I adore Greek Mythology as well so you had me with that. This is fantastic. Magnificent piece!

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  9. Good morning Beautiful!

    About the Sidoarjo mud flow...

    OMG! Amalia!!! I am stunned! OMG! I have never heard of such but the images of the devastation are almost surreal. My husband worked in Jakarta many years ago and traveled in Indonesia. he told me that Indonesia is dotted with volcanoes but a mud volcano! OMG! Thank you for informing me. OMG! OMG!

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  10. It's a very difficult situation. The problem is caused by nature. Governments can only do so much. This mud volcano is expected to continue erupting for the next 30 years, what can you do about it? I think perhaps the government can declare the area uninhabitable but where will people live?

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  11. Amalia, That would be like Hawaii where tourists watch the continuously lava flowing, emitting volcano. If they can make that happen then that would be good. Compensation? The government promised to compensate them? Why not just provide a new area? I wonder if trees can grow in a river of mud? This is so interesting and intriguing. I have to study this. Oy! This is stronger than coffee. Okay. I will stop.

    Your drawing! The details are so symbolic and meaningful!!!

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  12. I have a Life is Good award for you, because I just love your art and blog so much! If you would like to take it it is here:

    http://fairrosie.blogspot.com/2010/05/little-bit-of-magic-and-some-awards.html

    Have a good weekend! :) ~Lauren

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  13. Wow this is beautiful, it flows so beautifully and it has such a gentle feel to it! Lovely lovely piece!

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  14. Hey girlfriends! You are so good to me... thank you sweets!!

    And, thank you Lauren for the award... you're so lovely! :)

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  15. So very beautiful Amalia! I absolutely love your style and you are so very talented! She's just lovely!

    Smiles

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  16. Oh such beautiful work, I love art that just makes you want to step through the canvas and live in it.

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  17. Wow! Your work is always so beautiful :)

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  18. Meraviglioso!!!!! Wonderful!!!!!

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  19. Oh wow...what a beautiful drawing style you have! :O)

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  20. Tank you for your visit... i think you're unic , talented ... a embrace ...

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  21. ahhhhhhhh kampret!!!! komputer gw mati 3hari garagara petir siaaaalllll!
    i missed this beautiful leda blablabla... did i miss this?
    ini kamu bangetttttt kayanya ya teh?

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  22. keren, all beautiful, gw jadiin desktop gimana??? :D

    cek email, aku ngirim foto ga penting, HAHAHAHAH

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  23. helloooooo????? are you sleeping????
    kirain ol 24jam kaya si bos, yang penting apdet status.
    yu.

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  24. Hello Amalia K, thank you so much for your comment on our blog, specially on my drawing about 'equipment' for illustration friday! Your last drawing is beautiful, I like the range of colors that you use, very pacific, you have a wonderful universe here!

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  25. You're all so wonderful... thanks for stopping by and leaving me these lovely comments! :) ox

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  26. Oh, I like Leda - she's so innocent in her dream. Maybe that's why you've drawn her as a girl. There's a harmony between her and the swan, some kind of merging (is that the right word in English?) between forms, colours and moods. Her curls are beautiful... The cloud is so fluffy, I can feel it... Only the thorns imply that there's something wrong in what's happening...But the emotion is so strong that they've begun to bloom. I admire your work, Amalia!

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  27. oh Amalia, this is gorgeous. I just love it. It reminds me of images that I loved and treasured growing up, so classic.

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  28. My dearest Rossichka... so perceptive as always (^_^)

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  29. The swan has always been a charged symbol ...

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  30. Amalia, Thank you for visiting my site and now I see what a fine place you have here as well. Your work is very soft, delicate and lovely. I will be delving deeper into your site to see everything you have created!

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  31. Hay, gee, you know, my internet provider turns me off for three days and four hours and nine minutes and what happens? :)

    Hey (looks better than "hay" which is what cows eat :) you know the negative space in this is very elegant. The whole image is so organic, how the two bodies are joined as one, and how you flow the composition with swirls and grace notes that guide the eye all around the work.

    The swan neck is so feminine, but the wing so rigid and masculine; and ultimately we are reminded of the truth when we see the thorns under the bed of clouds.

    It's like soft and hard, sharp and soft. And that's not even mentioning the colours.

    Wow, I feel a Jungian archetype coming on :) I better go downstairs to the library.

    see you :)



    PS thankyou for saying nice things about me, though I don't deserve it! I am a bad man who mispells smiple words and eats wooden cheese :)

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  32. HAHAHA... So the man of the moment is finally here! Ackh, internet problems, huh? I thought you were missing in action somewhere in the depths of Papua! :D

    Thank you, thank you for enlightening me with your vision, dear professor. HAHAHA...

    Let me know what you find in that library of yours! :)

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  33. thanks for the tip, Lia, mudah2an bisa utak-atik space-nya, abisnya ga begitu ngerti html-html-an sih. haha.

    lovely drawing, btw! pertama kali terpesona sama leda adalah sama leda-nya leonardo da vinci^^

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  34. Oh, I want a bed like this! She is so lovely as is every detail of this beautiful piece!

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  35. ya tuh ga tau dia ga suka sama ade aksan katanya suka nakal suka oprek oprek (kaya sendirinya ga suka ngoprek aja...)
    yu ah daaaaahhhhh

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  36. So very beautifully rendered. And a great choice of colors.

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Tell me your lovely daydreams, they always make me smile! ♥