Ganymede And The Eagle Analysis

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I chose to visit the Minneapolis Institute of Art because I was told by others that this place had a large quantity of Greek artifacts to choose from. I have never been to an art museum before, it was very interesting, also interesting for my kids to explore a whole new world. The one sculpture that caught my eye was the Ganymede and the Eagle. I wanted to know the whole story behind this sculpture because just by looking at it; you couldn’t really tell what was going on between the two objects in the sculpture. The individual who designed this sculpture was a Danish artist; his name is Albert Bertel Thorvaldsen. The Ganymede and the Eagle were created from 1817 – 1829 in Europe, Denmark. Bertel Thorvaldsen, also spelled Thorwaldsen was …show more content…

Almost a comfort-like appearance and the nature of the group and is a mark of Thorvaldsen’s extreme mastery of a line, which he skilled to perfection. Made in Camarra marble, it is the 19th century style. The various versions of what Bertel has presented of the figure Ganymede is offering the drinking cup (1804) and the Ganymede filling the cup (1816) the work of the 1817 sculpture shows him as a kneeling figure serving water to the eagle. There are a few ancient rumors on how Ganymede, who is the son of King Tros, and was the most delightful of all youths, Ganymede was chosen by the gods of Zeus’s cupbearer. The father of the gods covered himself in eagle feathers and hunted out the youth on the Plain of Troy in order to draw him away from Olympus. The eagle dropped from the sky; Ganymede offers him his drinking cup, and the disguised Olympus god dips his beak into the bowl. As a sign of his origin, the youth wears the Phrygian cap and holds a jug in his right hand. (Web Gallery of Art) The precision detail of this sculpture is a boy and an eagle, which are carved from two separate black of marble. Thorvaldsen’s mastery of art can be seen in the details of which the two figures are pieced together. The cup that Ganymede is holding in his hand is casted …show more content…

Me only cruel immortality Consumes; I wither slowly in thine arms.” Here at the quiet limit of the world, A white-hair'd shadow roaming like a dream The ever-silent spaces of the East, Far-folded mists, and gleaming halls of morn. (Tithonus, Poets.org) Ganymede was known for his beauty; he was a Trojan prince in the Greek era. According to another tale, Zeus turned himself into an eagle and kidnapped Ganymede and lured him into Mount Olympus. Ganymede’s father was weeping for his son, so in turn Zeus had delivered two horses so swift that they could run over water. Tros was completely satisfied that son will have a noble stand. “The theme of the father recurs in many of the Greek coming of age myths of male love, suggesting the relationship to be symbolized by these stories that took place with the consent of the father.” (Aquarius, the Gay Constellation) Most of the gods were comfortable with Ganymede, in the exception of Hera, who was feeling awfully jealous. Hera was the wife and one of the three sisters of Zeus in the Greek Mythology and religion. Her leading function was the goddess of women and marriage. “Zeus eventually turned Ganymede into a constellation which is known as Aquarious (the water-bearer) in the sky, even to this day it is still linked with that of the Eagle (Aquila).” (Myth

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