The Mocking of Ceres (also known as : Ceres Seeking her Daughter)

Expand

IIIFView PDF

The Mocking of Ceres (also known as : Ceres Seeking her Daughter)

Artist Hendrik Goudt (Dutch, 1583-1648)

Date1610

DimensionsOverall: 12 5/8 x 9 5/8 in. (32.1 x 24.4 cm)

MediumEngraving (after a painting by Adam Elsheimer)

ClassificationPrints

Credit LineGift of William J. Hitchcock Fund in Memory of Grace J. Hitchcock

Object number

1988.45

Not on View

Label TextThe work of German artist Adam Elsheimer was an important influence on Dutch artists in the 17th century and is partly responsible for introducing chiaroscuro to artists in the Netherlands. In this print, Hendrik Goudt has transcribed Elsheimer’s mythological subject matter. Using the technique of engraving, Goudt created a haunting scene in which a weary and famished Ceres, the ancient Roman goddess of agriculture and family life, is being taunted by the child Stellio for eagerly drinking a jar of porridge. For the child’s impudence, the angry goddess turns him into a lizard. In Roman mythology, Ceres’s daughter Proserpina was abducted by Pluto, the god of the Underworld. Ceres searched throughout the world in vain for her daughter. In desperation and revenge Ceres stopped the growth of all fruits and vegetables until her daughter was returned.Exhibition HistoryTMA, The Dramatic Image: Baroque Prints of the 17th Century, February 25 - July 31, 2011.

TMA, Paper Roses: Garden-Inspired Works on Paper. Feb. 21-May 18, 2014.