"Danaë" by Rembrandt is firmly associated with the 1985 incident when an unknown person doused the masterpiece with sulfuric acid and stabbed the canvas several times, after which the painting underwent restoration for 12 years. Perhaps without this unfortunate event the painting would not have become so famous. Today we will talk about this masterpiece in more detail and find out what makes this painting so interesting.
The work is based on the myth of Danaë. The girl's father was foretold that he would be killed by his daughter's son. To prevent this, he locked Danaë in a dark tower, where she was to spend her whole life so that the son who would kill him would not be born. An old female guardian was placed with the heroine. Zeus, captivated by Danaë's beauty, entered the prison in the form of a shower of gold and impregnated the girl. Perseus was born, who, when grown, took part in athletic games and killed his grandfather. Accidentally, of course.
Many artists painted works on this subject — an idealized Danaë meets the shower of gold with astonishment, while the old guardian anxiously watches the arrival of the uninvited Zeus. Rembrandt's painting differs significantly from the works of other masters in several important respects.
"Danaë" by Rembrandt is more human and natural. It is not an idealized image. It is known that the model was Saskia van Uylenburgh, the artist's wife, whom he habitually painted without embellishment. In the mid-20th century staff from the Hermitage X-rayed the painting. Under the layer of paint they discovered that Saskia in a pearl necklace and covered by a sheet was indeed depicted. But the face known on the Danaë differs from the Saskia we can see in the artist's other paintings. Thus, it turns out that in 1634 Rembrandt painted Danaë with his wife. In 1642 Saskia died, and he met Geertje Dircx, who comforted the artist and with whom, in 1648, Rembrandt repainted the canvas. In this way the artist combined features of two beloved women in Danaë.
In the painting, on the right is a portrait of Geertje Dircx, on the left — a fragment of "Danaë".
The old guardian has clearly masculine facial features, and there is a widespread opinion that the master depicted himself as a witness to the erotic miracle. This version is supported by the headwear — Rembrandt's favorite beret, which can be seen on his well-known self-portrait. Depicting himself in his paintings was one of the artist's trademarks. For example, he painted himself at the feet of the crucified Christ in the painting The Raising of the Cross.
A merry Rembrandt in a riotous revel can be seen in the painting "The Prodigal Son in the Tavern" (1635), where Rembrandt and Saskia are depicted.
Unlike other paintings on the myth, which capture the moment of Zeus's appearance with Danaë looking up and throwing back her head, Rembrandt's canvas originally depicted the scene in the same way. But, having repainted the girl's face, he changed that moment as well: he removed the shower and altered the direction of the gaze so that the heroine looks into the distance, seeing Zeus already departing. He also changed Cupid's face — from joyful to sad — for in the new composition Zeus is leaving. And they will not meet again.
The painting "Danaë" was not painted on commission but for himself, hence the warm, cozy, almost intimate atmosphere of the space. However, the painting had to be sold to pay off debts after the artist's bankruptcy in 1656. The fact that the artist had repainted the canvas saved it, since it was precisely the thick layer of paint that made it possible to restore the work after the vandalism.
