Circe and her swine 1896

Briton Riviere's image presents us with Circe, the enchantress from Homer’s Odyssey, amidst her transformed victims: men turned into swine. The motif of metamorphosis, of humans reduced to beasts, carries a powerful psychological charge. It echoes in art through the ages, from medieval bestiaries to Goya's grotesque figures. Circe, with her gaze directed upwards, embodies a disquieting blend of power and vulnerability. This gesture of looking up, of seeking inspiration or justification, reminds us of countless depictions of divine figures in Renaissance art. The pig, historically a symbol of base instincts, here becomes a vessel for the subconscious fears of moral degradation. It's a stark reminder of our own capacity for transformation, for succumbing to the animalistic urges that lurk beneath the surface of civilization. This fear, this fascination with the blurring of boundaries between human and animal, continually resurfaces. It is a potent force in our collective memory.