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18th Century Transformation of Io into a Heifer Painting Oil on Panel

About the Item

Scope of Noël Hallé (Paris, 2 September 1711 - 5 June 1781) Transformation of Io into a heifer Oil on panel, 49 x 61 cm Frame 67 x 78 cm The refined table in question takes up one of the main scenes of the myth of Io and Jupiter, as it has been handed down to us by the Herodotean version. Jupiter, falling in love with Io, daughter of Inaco king of Argos, tries to conquer and seduce her. The god, to hide his infidelity from Juno, envelops the earth with a blanket of clouds. Juno, however, becomes suspicious and orders the mists to dissolve, thus managing to find her consort. Meanwhile, to protect Io from his wife's anger, he transforms the nymph into a white heifer. Juno, sensing the deception, asked for the heifer as a gift and Jupiter could not hold back. Then the goddess entrusted the heifer to Argos with a hundred eyes to watch over her. Jupiter asked Mercury, his messenger, to free her. Mercury, transformed into a shepherd, he put the policeman Argo to sleep by telling him the story of Pan and Syringe, and then beheaded him. Juno, displeased, took Argos one hundred eyes and applied them to the tail of the peacock, an animal sacred to her. I punished again by Juno, who sends her a gadfly to torment her, she is forced to wander relentlessly throughout the earth. Arriving at the arm of the sea between Europe and Asia, she swam across Io, so this took the name of Bosphorus ("passage of the heifer"). Finally the goddess, under the pressure of Jupiter, puts an end to her torture: arrived in Egypt, Io resumes its original appearance. On the banks of the Nile, the girl will give birth to Epapho - progenitor of the lineage of the Egyptians from which the Danaids themselves and finally also Heracles - son of Jupiter and will be venerated by the Egyptian people as goddess Isis. There are two versions of the transformation of Io in Greek mythology, one that seems to date back to Herodotus, the other taken up by Aeschylus in the Supplices. According to the Herodotean version, Zeus himself transforms Io to make Era harmless. Otherwise, in the Supplian version, it was Hera who transformed Io into a heifer out of jealousy and Zeus joined her in the form of a bull. Son of the painter Claude Guy Hallé, Noel received most of his father's teachings and then enrolled in the "Royal Academy of Painting", where he obtained the main prizes and awards, including the award of the Prix de Rome. He was then a guest of the French Academy in Rome, where, later, he was nominated as Director of the École française. Hallé was Jean II Restout's brother-in-law and Jean Jouvenet's nephew; his son was the famous physician Jean Noël Hallé, Napoleon's first physician. Among his pupils was Pierre-Antoine Mongin.
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 26.38 in (67 cm)Width: 30.71 in (78 cm)Depth: 2.37 in (6 cm)
  • Materials and Techniques:
  • Place of Origin:
  • Period:
  • Date of Manufacture:
    18th Century
  • Condition:
    Refinished. Wear consistent with age and use. The painting has been cleaned.
  • Seller Location:
    Milan, IT
  • Reference Number:
    1stDibs: LU5918226764762
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