Ixion’s Wheel

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Ixion’s Wheel

Artist Bernard Picart (French, 1673-1733)

Date1731

Dimensions14 x 10 in. (36 x 25.5 cm)

MediumEtching

ClassificationPrints

Object number

1984.48

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Label TextWhile 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.Exhibition HistoryTMA, The Dramatic Image: Baroque Prints of the 17th Century, February 25 - July 31, 2011.