Satyrs and Nymphs in paintings

Satyrs and nymphs
In Greek mythology, satyrs are a troop of male companions of Pan and Dionysus that roamed the
woods and mountains.
Satyrs are described as roguish but faint-hearted folk — subversive and dangerous, yet shy and
cowardly. As Dionysiac creatures they are lovers of wine, women and boys, and are ready for
every physical pleasure.
They love to dance with the nymphs with whom they are obsessed and whom they often pursue.

CLAUDE LORRAIN
Landscape with Nymph and Satyr Dancing
1641
Oil on canvas, 133,0 x 99.7 cm
The Toledo Museum of Art

CLAUDE LORRAIN
(detail)
1641
Oil on canvas, 133,0 x 99.7 cm
The Toledo Museum of Art

RUBENS, Peter Paul
Nymphs and Satyrs
1637-40
Oil on canvas, 136 x 165 cm
Museo del Prado, Madrid

RUBENS, Peter Paul
Nymphs and Satyrs (detail)
1637-40
Oil on canvas, 136 x 165
cm

RUBENS, Peter Paul
Diana and her Nymphs Surprised by the
Fauns
1638-40

RUBENS, Peter Paul
Diana and her Nymphs Surprised by the
Fauns (detail)
1638-40

BRONZINO, Agnolo
Venus, Cupido and Satyr
1553-1555
Oil on wood, 135 × 231 cm
Palazzo Colonna, Rome

BRONZINO, Agnolo
Venus, Cupido and Satyr (detail)
1553-1555
Oil on wood, 135 × 231 cm
Palazzo Colonna, Rome

DYCK, Sir Anthony van
Diana and a Nymph Discovered by a Satyr
1622 – 1627

(detail)
1622 – 1627

POUSSIN, Nicolas
A Bacchic Scene
1626 - 1628

POUSSIN, Nicolas
A Bacchic Scene (detail)
1626 - 1628

WATTEAU, Jean-Antoine
Nymph and Satyr, or Jupiter
and Antiope
1715-16
(oval)
Musée du Louvre, Paris

Nymph and Satyr, or Jupiter
and Antiope (detail)
1715-16
(oval)
Musée du Louvre, Paris

BOUGUEREAU, William-
Adolphe
Nymphs and Satyr
1873
Oil on canvas, 260.4 x 182.9 cm
Sterling & Francine Clark Art
Institute, Williamstown

BOUGUEREAU, William-
Adolphe
Nymphs and Satyr (detail)
1873
Oil on canvas, 260.4 x 182.9 cm
Sterling & Francine Clark Art
Institute, Williamstown

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BOUGUEREAU, William-Adolphe
Nymphs and Satyr
According to the Clark Institute, in the painting "a group of nymphs have been surprised, while bathing in a secluded pond,
by a lascivious satyr.
Some of the nymphs have retreated into the shadows on the right; others, braver than their friends, are trying to dampen
the satyr's ardor by pulling him into the cold water- one of the satyr's hooves is already wet and he clearly wants to go no
further. Satyrs--half-man, half-goat--were reputedly unable to swim.

CLAUDE LORRAIN
Near a majestic temple ruin, a flute-playing shepherd and his companion make music with some nature spirits. One nymph
beats a tambourine while the other dances with a satyr—rather warily, in view of the latter's leer and lustful nature.
The light that streams through the columns, leaving most of the foreground in shadows, sets this enchanted glade apart from
the sunlit country on the other side of the river. Beyond, where water, land, and sky melt into infinite distance, the light grows
radiant. It is the clarity of this light and its unifying effect that ultimately accounts for the aesthetic beauty of Claude Lorrain's
work.

RUBENS, Peter Paul
Nymphs and Satyrs
Under some trees, a group of Nymphs and Satyrs enjoy Nature in harmony. The Nymphs personify the fecundity of the fields, while
the Satyrs live in, and watch over, the woods. Together they harvest the fruits offered by Nature.
The water running out of a jug and the horn allude to abundance and prosperity. In the right foreground, a child satyr offers a cluster
of grapes to a tiger. This is an allusion to Bacchus, a deity intimately related to the fertility of Nature.
This painting was made during the artist´s last productive years, when his works were animated by idyllic and sensual sentiments
and were frequently set in lush landscapes. Some of the figures are based on classical sculptures, showing Rubens broad
knowledge of classical culture. This work belonged to the artist until he died in 1640, when it was acquired by Felipe IV and taken to
Madrid´s Alcázar Palace.

RUBENS, Peter Paul
Diana and her Nymphs Surprised by the Fauns
Diana the huntress is resting with her court of Nymphs in a clearing in the woods when she is attacked by a group of Satyrs.
Rubens turned this painting into a virtuoso exercise in composition. In the foreground, two volumes lead to the rest of the scene: on
the left are the hunting trophies attained by the nymphs, and on the right, a reclining nymph with her back to the viewer, one of the
most sensual nudes in the artist´s entire oeuvre. In the middle ground, like a running frieze, are two groups of figures: the Nymphs
who attempt to escape the attack of the Fauns.
This painting comes from Rubens´ most sensual and poetic period, coinciding with the last decade of his life. Its open and very
dynamic composition shows his mastery of movement. He painted it with the help of other artists, including Frans Snyders, for the
animals, and Jan Wildens, for the landscape. This is part of a series of eighteen paintings intended for the vaults of Madrid´s Alc

BRONZINO, Agnolo
Venus, Cupido and Satyr
Venus and Cupid and a Satyr was completed sometime around 1553-54 and is now on display in one of the galleries of the
Palazzo Colonna in Rome. In this painting, the nude bodies of Venus and Cupid are again portrayed as potential sources of
pleasure for the viewer, but this time there are no allegorical elements included in the composition, so the erotic nature of the
image is more evident.
Crucially, this version of the painting includes a satyr who stands in for the voyeuristic viewer and who gazes lustfully at the
central pair. The satyr's lechery is clearly signaled by his wagging tongue, his leering eyes, and his grasping hand, but
significantly, it is impossible to tell who the satyr is lookinb at: his gaze cuts diagonally across both figures from Cupid's bottom
to Venus' lap, and then, appropriately enough, to the tip of the arrow that Venus holds.

In this scene, night falls after a fruitful day of hunting- numerous pieces of game are stacked nearby- and Diana sleeps alongside
one of the nymphs from the entourage assigned her by her father, Jupiter. This straightforward and frequently depicted episode is
the subject of the present work. And even the presence of the satyr -possibly the lecherous god of the forests, Pan- comes as no
surprise here, as he always hovered around the nymphs.
This satyr’s expressive left hand is central to the narration, expressing his desires and his leading role in the scene. He is not only
pointing at Diana, who may be the ultimate goal of this satyr’s desires, but also at the quiver, the bow and the dog- the goddess’s
inseparable attributes and those that make her most feared and powerful.
With the dog asleep and the weapons lying in the corner, Diana’s nudity conveys a sense of vulnerability. Both she and her
companion seem accessible, and that quality is what makes this scene doubly disturbing, both because of the satyr’s presence
and for the viewer, whom the satyr involves in the scene by obliging him to share the enjoyment of Diana’s sensual nudity.

POUSSIN, Nicolas
A Bacchic Scene
This subject is frequent in Poussin´s work. It presents a nude bacchant holding a jug while a goat-footed faun with an ivy-leaf belt
and crown drinks from a vessel held by a cupid.
Unlike later works, this work give more emphasis to the subject matter than to the surrounding landscape, combining mythology
with nudity. This would seem to indicate that the scene refers to a specific text which has yet to be identified.
The rapid and careless technique is combined with a very straightforward composition dominated by muted colors that are
heightened with a few touches of red.
A replica of this canvas is at the Pushkin Museum in Moscow, and it has important similarities to The Bacchant and the Satyr at the
National Gallery in Dublin. This work is listed in the 1746 inventory of King Felipe V´s collection at the Palace of La Granja de San
Ildefonso. It entered the Prado Museum in 1829.

Nymph and Satyr, or Jupiter and Antiope
This painting, also known as Nymph and Satyr, is one of the most sensual works by Watteau. The subject is taken from
Greek mythology (Ovid, Metamorphoses). Antiope was a nymph or, according to some, the wife of a king of Thebes.
She was surprised by Jupiter in the form of a Satyr while she was asleep, and was ravished by him. The theme was used
at different art periods as a medium for portrayal of the female nude.

Satyrs and Nymphs in paintings

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Satyrs and Nymphs in paintings