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Gods, heroes and old stories

Myths and Legends

The old stories, told in paint. Isfandiyar slaying his dragon in the Shahnama, Hanuman bringing the healing herbs to Rama and Lakshmana, Cranach's judgment of Paris, Diana surprised in her bath, Rubens's river god feasting his guests, Poussin's blind giant walking toward the sunrise, and Tiepolo's gods crowding a ceiling. Persian, Indian and European tellings side by side.

34 pictures, pick one to build

"The Feast of Sada", Folio 22v from the Shahnama (Book of Kings) of Shah Tahmasp Abu'l Qasim Firdausi, ca. 1525 Mars and Venus United by Love Paolo Veronese (Paolo Caliari), 1570s Flora Rembrandt (Rembrandt van Rijn), ca. 1654 Venus and Cupid Lorenzo Lotto, 1520s Astarte John Singer Sargent, ca. 1890–95 The Judgment of Paris Lucas Cranach the Elder, ca. 1528 Rama and Lakshmana as Boys Assist the Sage Vishvamitra: Folio from a dispersed Ramayana series Workshop active in the First generation after Nainsukh, ca. 1780 Figures with dragons Unidentified artist, late 19th–early 20th century "Diana, Goddess of the Hunt", Folio from the Davis Album Attributed to 'Ali Quli Jabbadar, early 17th century The Toilette of Venus François Boucher, 1751 Diana and Actaeon (Diana Surprised in Her Bath) Camille Corot, 1836 The Feast of Acheloüs Peter Paul Rubens, ca. 1615 Allegory of the Planets and Continents Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, 1752 The Companions of Rinaldo Nicolas Poussin, ca. 1633 The Birth of Venus Alexandre Cabanel, 1875 The Chariot of Apollo Odilon Redon, 1905–16 Venus and the Lute Player Titian and Workshop, ca. 1565–70 Wall painting: Perseus and Andromeda in landscape, from the imperial villa at Boscotrecase Unknown artist, last decade of the 1st century BCE Bellona Rembrandt (Rembrandt van Rijn), 1633 Saint George Carlo Crivelli, 1472 Venus and Cupid Lucas Cranach the Elder, ca. 1525–27 Hanuman Revives Rama and Lakshmana with Medicinal Herbs: Illustrated folio from a dispersed Ramayana series Workshop active in the First generation after Nainsukh, ca. 1790 "The Wedding of Siyavush and Farangis", Folio 185v from the Shahnama (Book of Kings) of Shah Tahmasp Abu'l Qasim Firdausi, ca. 1525–30 Aegina Visited by Jupiter Jean-Baptiste Greuze, ca. 1767–69 Venus and Adonis Peter Paul Rubens, probably mid-1630s Bacchus and Ariadne Giovanni Antonio Pellegrini, 1720s Blind Orion Searching for the Rising Sun Nicolas Poussin, 1658 Pygmalion and Galatea Jean-Léon Gérôme, ca. 1890 The Monkey King Vali's Funeral Pyre: Illustrated folio from a dispersed Ramayana series Workshop active in the First generation after Nainsukh, ca. 1780 "Isfandiyar's Third Course: He Slays a Dragon", Folio 434v from the Shahnama (Book of Kings) of Shah Tahmasp Abu'l Qasim Firdausi, ca. 1530 The Apotheosis of the Spanish Monarchy Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, 1760s The Trojan Women Setting Fire to Their Fleet Claude Lorrain (Claude Gellée), ca. 1643 Rama, Sita, and Lakshmana at the Hermitage of Bharadvaja: Illustrated folio from a dispersed Ramayana series Unknown artist, ca. 1780 The Chariot of Aurora Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, 1760s