Metamorphosis
The legend of Leda
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Leda and the swan by
Leonardo di Bottega (16th c)
Leda after an original by
Leonardo DA VINCI (16th c)
Leda and the Swan
anonymous (late 16thc)
Leda by
Villiam COT (n.k.)
 
Leda with the swan
by Jacopo R. TINTORETTO (n.k.)
Leda
by L. COURTAT (19th c)
Leda
by Arthur MURCH (1935-39)
Leda col cigno
by L. MUSSINI (16th c)
Leda
by Tade STYKA (19th c)
Leda
by Arnold MACHIN OBE RA (1992)
 

Leda was a daughter of the king of Aetolia. Married to Tyndareus, king of Sparta, she had many children, some of whom were begotten by Zeus who had metamorphosed into a swan to unite with her. From that union, it is said that Leda laid two eggs from which emerged two pairs of children: Helen and Castor, and Pollux and Clytemnestra.

Leda
by THOMAS ( - )

Paintings of the legend of Leda and the Swan have been found in Pompei. During the Renaissance, artists engaged in the rediscovery of the human anatomy ; Zeus' illicit love affairs gave them an opportunity to paint the female body at first with classical overtones then with increasing sensuality. Leonardo Da Vinci 's original work although lost, is known to us through various copies as is illustrated by Leda and Leda and the Swan, the latter attributed to Leonardo di Bottega. On the strength of these copies, Leonardo's own version of Leda would have shown classic restraint. Similarly, Michelangelo's own Leda and the Swan was also the subject of several copies by successive generations of artists, among whom we find Antonio Corregio. The latter was to also provide us with one the few illustrations of the legend of Io. But Michelangelo's Leda and the Swan displays far more sensuality, and reveals a degree of eroticism more in tune with the ideal of pagan hedonism. This use of classical myths was pursued from the Renaissance, right through the Baroque period to our time. More often than not, as a way to both express and excuse erotic content (see Leda and the swan by Jacopo Tintoretto or The triumph of the swan by Leon Francois COMERRE).

Der Liebesgott
Anonymous ( - )

Other painters tackled the subject. They include:

Leda : Corregio, Francois Boucher, Elliott Daingerfield, Theodore Gericault, Jean Thierry, Cy Twombly, Bartolommeo Ammanati, Clodion

 
 
Leda and the swan
by Jacopo TINTORETTO (16th c)
The triumph of the swan by
Leon Francois COMERRE(beg 20th c )
Female nude (Leda II?)
by Paul CEZANNE (1885-87)
Leda col cigno
by MICHELANGELO (16th c)
The fable of Leda
by CORREGGIO (16th c)
Leda
by PLAISIR ( - )
Leda (no43) by
Gustave MOREAU (n.k.)
Leda by
Gustave MOREAU (n.k.)
Leda (cat718) by
Gustave MOREAU (n.k.)
Leda by
A. CALBET (n.k.)
Leda atomica by
Salvador DALI (1949)
Leda II by
Jacques RICHEZ (1991)
Leda by
H. GERVEX (early 20th c)
Leda and the swan by
Karl WESCHKE (1986)

The origin of the cards and the publishers :
Leda atomica by Salvador DALI (1949) Fundacio Gala-Salvador Dali, Figueras
        - RS 403, Nouvelles Images SA, Lombreuil, France
Leda by Arnold MACHIN OBE RA (1992) Royal Academy of Arts, London
        - 12035, Royal Academy of Arts, London
Leda and the Swan by Leonardo di Bottega ( 16th c) Museo Reverie, Italy
        - 26993/C NA937, Becocci Editore, Firenze
Leda by Arthur MURCH (1935-39) The Art Gallery of New South Wales
        - The Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney
Leda by H. GERVEX (not known) Salon de Paris
        - A.N. Paris No86, Luxochromie A. Noyer, Paris
Leda by L. COURTAT (not known) Musee du Luxembourg, Paris
        - 502, Lapina, Paris
Leda by Tade STYKA (not known) Salon de Paris, Paris
        - 4364, Noyer, Paris
Femme nue (Leda II?) by Paul CEZANNE (1885-87) Heydt-Museum, Wuppertal
        - VD5368, Vontobel, Feldmeilen, Switzerland
Leda and the Swan by Jacopo TINTORETTO (not known) Uffizi, Firenze
        - FI-UF12, Sillabe, Firenze
Leda with the Swan (different from above) by Jacopo TINTORETTO (not known) Uffizi, Firenze
        - FI-UF12, Sillabe, Firenze
Leda (copy of Da Vinci's work) by Unknown (16th c)
        - 189, Ediz. Giusti di S. Becocci, Firenze
The triumph of the swan by Leon Francois COMERRE (not known) Collection Bonhams, London
        - 2062, Mercurius Art Publishing
Leda and the Swan by (anonymous) (16th c) Musee national de la Renaissance, Chateau d'Ecouen
        - IC-00-4818, Reunion des Musees Nationaux, Paris
La fabula de Leda by Corregio (not known) Museo del Prado, Madrid
        - 120, Ediciones artisticas OFFO, Madrid
 Leda by Villiam COT (n.k.) Salon de Paris, Paris
        - 200, Lapina, Paris
Leda II by Jacques RICHEZ (1991) Salon de Paris, Paris
        - C4991, Art Unlimited, Amsterdam
Leda by A. CALBET (n.k.) Musee d'Agen, Agen
        - Mouhs. phot, Agen
Leda and the Swan by Karl WESCHKE (1986)
        - 2/4022, Bristol City Council
Der Liebesgott by Unknown (not known)
        - 376, S.V.D.
Leda by THOMAS(1986)
        - 2210, Salon J.P.P. J. Plichta Praha
Leda (cat. 718) by Gustave MOREAU (Musee Gustave Moreau, Paris)
        - IC-00-5697, Reunion des Musees Nationaux, Paris
Leda by Gustave MOREAU (Musee Gustave Moreau, Paris)
        - G. 1655, Castelet, Boulogne
Leda (no 43) by Gustave MOREAU (Musee Gustave Moreau, Paris)
        - MU 3479, Reunion des Musees Nationaux, Paris
Leda col cigno by L. MUSSINI ( - )
        - 054, MIRIS
Leda col cigno by MICHELANGELO Buonarroti (Museo Civico, Venezia)
        - 30, Giov. Zanetti Edit. Venezia

Bibliography :
Dictionary of Classical Mythology by Pierre Grimal
   Copyright : 1991, Penguin Books, London, England

Encyclopedia Mythica - website address: http://www.pantheon.org/
Mythography Exploring Greek, Roman, and Celtic Mythology and Art - website address: http://www.loggia.com/myth/myth.html

 

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