Banquet of the Gods by Paulus Willemsz. van Vianen

Banquet of the Gods Possibly 1580 - 1652

toned paper

light pencil work

pencil sketch

charcoal drawing

possibly oil pastel

fluid art

coffee painting

underpainting

watercolour illustration

watercolor

"Banquet of the Gods" is a drawing by Paulus Willemsz. van Vianen. Created sometime between 1580 and 1652, it depicts a group of nude figures gathered in a lush forest setting. The artist, known for his Mannerist style, employs a dramatic composition and dynamic poses to convey a sense of energy and movement. The drawing is a fine example of van Vianen's talent for capturing the human form in a highly detailed and expressive manner, exemplifying the influence of Italian Renaissance art on Dutch Mannerism.

Comments

rijksmuseum over 1 year ago

⋮

Saturn, with his sickle and hourglass, is seated in the middle foreground. His wife, Rhea, is at the far right. With their sons Jupiter (god of the sky), Pluto (lord of the underworld) and Neptune (god of the sea) and other mythological deities, they sit down to a banquet that can hardly be called festive. The drawing is a design for a silver plaque of 1604, on view in Gallery 2.3.