Jupiter and Semele by Gustave Moreau
Moreau’s visually overwhelming painting is a climactic scene from an ancient myth. Jupiter, the king of gods, had been having an affair with an irresistibly gorgeous mortal, Semele, who got pregnant. When his wife, Juno, found out she was enraged. Disguised as an old crone, she befriended Semele and planted the seed of doubt in her heart whether her lover is actually Jupiter himself. Juno suggested to her that, if true, he should make love to her in all his glory. That was part of Juno’s vengeful scheme! Semele made her request of Jupiter who knew that displaying his divinity would incinerate her but she insisted.
This painting represents the physical union between Jupiter and Semele, the divine and the earthly, ending in “orgasmic death.” It brings to mind a French euphemism which refers to orgasm, la petite mort (the little death) alluding to the momentary loss of consciousness. Jupiter here is seated on his throne, surrounded by his court. Semele, lying on his leg, had just been killed. She’s not visibly pregnant because Jupiter removed and rescued the unborn child from inside her womb. Her left side is bloodied. He sewed the baby to his leg who would become Bacchus (Dionysus), the god of wine. Juno is standing behind his left shoulder. Jupiter is holding in his right hand a lotus flower and resting his left arm on Apollo’s lyre.
Three sad figures are seated at the bottom of the throne. One on the left is holding a bloodied sword. In the middle, it’s the goatee-sporting god of shepherds, Pan, hanging his head in sorrow. On the right, another figure is holding a white lily symbolizing birth and motherhood. The black wings represent one of Jupiter’s attributes which is the eagle.
Learn to identify characteristics of Symbolist art