Danae. Danaë is a painting by the Dutch artist Rembrandt, first painted in 1636, but later extensively reworked by Rembrandt, probably in the 1640s, and perhaps before 1643.
Once part of Pierre Crozat's collection, it has been in the Hermitage Museum, in St. Petersburg, Russia since the 18th century. It is a life-sized depiction of the character Danaë from Greek mythology, the mother of Perseus.
She is presumably depicted as welcoming Zeus, who impregnated her in the form of a shower of gold. Given that this is one of Rembrandt's most magnificent paintings, it is not out of the question that he cherished it, but it also may have been difficult to sell because of its eight-by-ten-foot size.
Although the artist's wife Saskia was the original model for Danaë, Rembrandt later changed the figure's face to that of his mistress Geertje Dircx. The reworking changed the positions of, among other things, the head, outstretched arm and legs of Danaë.
The painting has been considerably cut down. It has a hard-to-read signature with a date ending in 6, but this may not be genuine. It was seriously vandalized in 1985, but has been restored. On June 15, 1985 Rembrandt's painting was attacked by Bronius Maigys, a Soviet Lithuanian national later judged insane; he threw sulfuric acid on the canvas and cut it twice with his knife. The entire central part of the composition was turned into a mixture of
Once part of Pierre Crozat's collection, it has been in the Hermitage Museum, in St. Petersburg, Russia since the 18th century. It is a life-sized depiction of the character Danaë from Greek mythology, the mother of Perseus.
She is presumably depicted as welcoming Zeus, who impregnated her in the form of a shower of gold. Given that this is one of Rembrandt's most magnificent paintings, it is not out of the question that he cherished it, but it also may have been difficult to sell because of its eight-by-ten-foot size.
Although the artist's wife Saskia was the original model for Danaë, Rembrandt later changed the figure's face to that of his mistress Geertje Dircx. The reworking changed the positions of, among other things, the head, outstretched arm and legs of Danaë.
The painting has been considerably cut down. It has a hard-to-read signature with a date ending in 6, but this may not be genuine. It was seriously vandalized in 1985, but has been restored. On June 15, 1985 Rembrandt's painting was attacked by Bronius Maigys, a Soviet Lithuanian national later judged insane; he threw sulfuric acid on the canvas and cut it twice with his knife. The entire central part of the composition was turned into a mixture of
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