Orpheus en de dieren by Elias van Nijmegen

Orpheus en de dieren 1677 - 1755

drawing, ink, pencil

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drawing

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narrative-art

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baroque

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pen sketch

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landscape

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figuration

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ink

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pen-ink sketch

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pencil

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pen work

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genre-painting

Elias van Nijmegen rendered this drawing, "Orpheus and the Animals," using pen and brown ink. Nijmegen was working in the late 17th and early 18th centuries, a period defined by baroque sensibilities, and he embraced decorative painting for wealthy Dutch patrons. Here, Orpheus, the legendary musician and poet, is depicted charming a menagerie with his lyre. In classical mythology, Orpheus could charm all living things and even stones with his music; this drawing visualizes this dominance. The animals, rendered in a range of detail from careful to hasty, gather around him, embodying a harmony that transcends the natural order. This drawing and its subject can be viewed through an intersectional lens. Orpheus, as a figure of divine artistry, represents a kind of mastery over the natural world. This raises questions about power, control, and our relationship with the environment, subjects that resonate powerfully today.

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