Full title | Landscape with the Expulsion of the Harpies |
---|---|
Artist | Paolo Fiammingo |
Artist dates | about 1540 - 1596 |
Series | Two Scenes from the Argonautica |
Date made | about 1590 |
Medium and support | Oil on canvas |
Dimensions | 185 x 206 cm |
Acquisition credit | Bought, 1944 |
Inventory number | NG5467 |
Location | Gallery A: Paintings 1250-1600 |
Collection | Main Collection |
As punishment for revealing the future to mankind, King Phineas of Thrace was blinded and had his food continually stolen by the harpies, who were half human and half bird. The story is told in the Argonautica, an epic romance written by Apollonius Rhodius during the third century BC.
A naked woman points to the sky as Zetes and Calais, the winged sons of Boreas, god of the north wind, put down food as bait to catch the dragon-like harpies. King Phineas stands beside the female figure of Fortune, pointing upward as the young Boreads launch themselves into the air to do battle in the clouds.
This painting and Landscape with a Scene of Enchantment (also in the National Gallery’s collection) may once have been part of a series of six or more paintings made to cover the upper walls of an entire room in a Venetian palace.
As punishment for revealing the future to mankind, King Phineas of Thrace was blinded, suffered the sorrows and pains of old age and had his food continually stolen and spoilt by the harpies. Half human and half bird, the harpies were the spirits of sharp gusts of wind. Because Phineas could see the future, he knew that his brothers-in-law Zetes and Calais, who were both travelling with the Greek hero Jason on his ship the Argo, were destined to deliver him from the harpies.
A naked woman points to the sky as Zetes and Calais, the winged sons of Boreas, the god of the north wind, put down food as bait to catch the harpies. King Phineas stands to the right, beside the female figure of Fortune, pointing upward as two young Boreads launch themselves into the air to do battle with the dragon-like creatures circling in the clouds. A third winged figure, wearing a lion skin, swoops down from the top.
The story is told in the Argonautica, an epic romance written by Apollonius Rhodius during the third century BC. It also appears in Virgil’s Aeneid (Book III) and Ariosto’s Orlando Furioso (Cantos 33 and 34). Iris, the wife of Zephyrus, the god of the west wind, persuades the sons of Boreas not to kill the harpies in return for a promise from them that they would never return. King Phineas then tells Jason and the Argonauts how to continue safely on their journey. Paolo Fiammingo’s Landscape with a Scene of Enchantment may show Odysseus and his men delayed from their journey on the enchantress Circe’s island.
Both canvases may once have been part of a larger series of perhaps six or more paintings. They are very large – over two metres wide and almost two metres high – and were probably made to decorate a Venetian palace, possibly the Palazzo Vendramin on the Grand Canal. Such a series of paintings would have decorated the upper walls of a whole room, like wallpaper today. When decorating walls elsewhere in Italy, it was usual to paint directly on the plaster, a technique known as fresco. However fresco was not suited to the damp climate of Venice, and so large canvases like these were painted instead. These pictures were painted exceptionally hastily using only a limited range of colours, probably because they were intended as interior decoration rather than as gallery paintings.
The pigment smalt, used for the blue of the sky, has discoloured and turned a greenish-grey, and some of the green foliage has darkened. The paint may have been prepared quickly or without proper care. There are also many pentimenti – areas in which Paolo Fiammingo painted over parts of the composition when he changed his mind. The number of these changes also suggest that he was painting quickly without much initial planning.
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Landscape with the Expulsion of the Harpies
Two Scenes from the Argonautica
These two very large canvases may once have been part of a series of perhaps six or more paintings which would have decorated the walls of a whole room in a Venetian palace, like wallpaper today. They were painted hastily using only a limited range of colours, which may be because they were intended as interior decoration rather than as gallery pictures.
Landscape with the Expulsion of the Harpies illustrates a scene from the Argonautica, an epic romance written by Apollonius Rhodius in the third century BC. The hybrid women in Landscape with a Scene of Enchantment could be beastly followers of Circe also described in the Argonautica (Book IV) and the sleeping man may be Odysseus. The very specific elements in this scene suggest that it illustrates a particular story, although we do not know which one.
These two very large canvases may once have been part of a series of perhaps six or more paintings. They are very large – over two metres wide and almost two metres high – and it is likely that they were made to decorate an upper wall between pilasters in a Venetian palace, possibly the Palazzo Vendramin on the Grand Canal. Such a series would have decorated a whole room, like wallpaper today.
It was usual elsewhere in Italy to paint directly on the plaster when decorating walls, a technique known as fresco. However, while fresco had been popular in Venice, it was increasingly being replaced through the middle of the century by large canvases like these, in part because fresco was not suited to the city’s damp climate. These pictures were painted hastily using only a limited range of colours, which may be because they were intended as interior decoration rather than as gallery pictures.
Landscape with the Expulsion of the Harpies illustrates a scene from the Argonautica, an epic romance written by Apollonius Rhodius in the third century BC. A naked woman points to the sky as Zetes and Calais, the winged sons of Boreas, god of the north wind, put down food as bait to catch the dragon-like harpies. King Phineas stands beside the female figure of Fortune, pointing upward as the young Boreads launch themselves into the air to do battle in the clouds.
The hybrid women in Landscape with a Scene of Enchantment could be beastly followers of Circe also described in the Argonautica (Book IV) and the sleeping man may be Odysseus. Two turbaned figures, emerging from a maze, embrace and talk to one another, while at the top of the picture another naked figure seems to slide into the clouds. The very specific elements in this scene suggest that it illustrates a particular story, although we do not know which one.

