Ixion’s Wheel
Artist: Bernard Picart (French, 1673-1733)
Date: 1731
Dimensions:
14 x 10 in. (36 x 25.5 cm)
Medium: Etching
Classification: Prints
Object number: 1984.48
Label Text:While dining with Zeus and Hera and other Olympian gods, Ixion, the king of the Lapithae (a mythical race reputed to live in Thessaly), was consumed with lust for Hera. In his delirium, Ixion coupled with a cloud (Nephele) that Zeus had created in the likeness of Hera. From this union the Centaurs (mythological creatures, part human and part horse) were born. As punishment for his impudence, Ixion was perpetually bound to a fiery wheel that revolves in the night sky.
Not on view
In Collection(s)