Danae After A Painting Of Anne-louis Girodet-trioson (1767-1824)

Depiction on a thick ivory plate of Danaë from the famous work by French painter Anne-Louis Girodet-Trioson (1767-1824). The young girl, locked in an underground room by her father, King Acrisius of Argos, is surprised as she is being groomed, her head raised to the sky, from which a fine shower of gold is falling, the personification of Jupiter who, infatuated with her, manages to enter the room and seduce her. Standing on a bed adorned with garlands of flowers, before a mirror held by an angel, she reveals the full splendor of her nudity. This reproduction is reversed from the original, which is in the Museum des Bildenden Künste in Leipzig. Danaë (1798) is Girodet's first realization at his return from Italy. It was commanded by Percier for the decoration of Benoît Gaudîn's mansion in Paris.
Girodet was undoubtedly one of the greatest painters of the 1800's. Born into a bourgeois family, he benefited from a particularly meticulous education, comparable to that of the Parisian bourgeoisie. His father enlisted the influence of Dr. Trioson, who became his tutor. He introduced the young man to professors, painters and architects. These encounters developed his ambitions and his knowledge. In 1783, Girodet entered the Académie Royale de peinture. The following year, at the age of seventeen, he took lessons in David's studio alongside Fabre, Gérard, Isabey and Gros. After two unsuccessful attempts, he finally won the Grand Prix de peinture in 1789. He then left for Italy, where he stayed for five years. He deepened his knowledge of Antiquity and bought numerous books on the subject. In Rome, he painted his first masterpiece, Le Sommeil d'Endymion. In 1793, Girodet left Rome and toured Italy, painting several landscapes. Danaë (1798) was his first work on his return from Italy. It was commissioned by Percier to decorate Benoît Gaudîn's mansion in Paris.