Paul Getty

J. Paul Getty Museum - December 29, 2007

getty.edu

juno by joseph nollekens

Matronly Juno, goddess of marriage in Roman mythology, bares one breast and undoes her dress for Paris's judgment of who among the three goddesses, Venus, Minerva, and Juno, was the most beautiful. This ample figure, crowned and heavily draped, stood with three other marble statues representing Venus, Minerva, and Paris.

venus by joseph nollekens

Venus, goddess of beauty and love in ancient mythology, leans on a tree trunk to remove her remaining sandal. She turns inward, drawing the viewer in to examine her nude body. Carved fully in the round, the figure provides views from multiple angles.

the family of general philippe guillaume duhesme by joseph chinard

the farewell of telemachus and eucharis by jacques-louis david

Fixing the viewer with a dreamy gaze, the fair-haired Telemachus grasps Eucharis's thigh with his right hand while holding his sword upright with the other. In the 1699 French novel Les Aventures de T??aque, loosely based on characters from the Odyssey, the author F?elon describes how Telemachus, the son of Odysseus, fell passionately in love with the beautiful nymph Eucharis. His duty as a son, however, required that he end their romance and depart in search of his missing father.

The ill-fated lovers say farewell in a grotto on Calypso's island. Facing towards us, Telemachus's blue tunic falls open to reveal his naked torso. Eucharis, seen in profile, encircles Telemachus's neck and gently rests her head upon his shoulder in resignation. In this way, Jacques-Louis David contrasts masculine rectitude with female emotion.

a young girl defending herself against eros by william adalphe bouguereau

A young nude woman sits with her arms outstretched, pushing away a winged boy. He is Cupid, the god of love, holding up an arrow to pierce her. The title suggests that the young woman is trying to defend herself, yet she smiles and struggles unconvincingly against the mischievous little god.

mischief and repose by john william godward

A young woman reclines on a tiger skin on a marble ledge while her companion teases her with a dress pin. They are dressed in diaphanous robes fashioned after chitons worn by women in ancient Greece. Another dress pin and the reclining woman's hair ribbon lie scattered on the marble floor.

cimon and pero: roman charity by jean-baptiste greuze

according to ancient roman legend, the aging cimon was unjustly condemned to starvation in prison. cimon was saved by his daughter pero, who secretly nourished him at her breast.