Circe Punishes Glaucus by Turning Scylla into a Monster

Eglon van der Neer, 1695

The unsightly, but good-natured sea god Glaucus was in love with Scylla, but this was unrequited. To win her over, he sought the help of the sorceress Circe. This was a mistake, for Circe was herself in love with him. In a fit of rage, she changed poor Scylla into a monster. Van der Neer set the story from Ovid’s Metamorphoses in sinister surroundings. Gesturing theatrically, the sorceress performs her vengeful deed.

  • Artwork typepainting
  • Object numberSK-A-4874
  • Dimensionsheight 64 cm x width 53.3 cm, depth 3.8 cm
  • Physical characteristicsoil on canvas

Identification

  • Title(s)

    • Circe Punishes Glaucus by Turning Scylla into a Monster
    • Circe Punishing Glaucus by transforming Scylla into a Monster

  • Object type

  • Object number

    SK-A-4874

  • Description

    Circe straft Glaucus door Scylla in een monster te veranderen. De tovenares Circe staat rechts voor een rotswand met in de handen een brandende fakkel en een bord met vuur, in het water Scylla en Glaucus. Rechts op een rots kijkt een draak toe.

  • Inscriptions / marks

    signature and date: ‘... 1695’

Creation

  • Creation

    painter: Eglon van der Neer

  • Dating

    1695

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Material and technique

  • Physical description

    oil on canvas

  • Dimensions

    • height 64 cm x width 53.3 cm
    • depth 3.8 cm

This work is about

  • Subject

Acquisition and rights

  • Credit line

    Purchased with the support of the Vereniging Rembrandt, with additional funding from the Prins Bernhard Fonds, the Rijksmuseum-Stichting, the G.H. Sant Bequest and the ministerie van WVC

  • Acquisition

    purchase 1990

  • Copyright

    Public domain

  • Provenance

    Inv.; …; sale, the Earl of Yarborough et al. [section Captain John Alexander Maylin Vipan, 1849-1939, Stibbington Hall, Stibbington, Cambridgeshire], London (Sotheby’s), 28 June 1939, no. 150, £ 5.0.0, to the dealer Siegfried Berendt, London;{Copy RKD.}…; sale, Stockholm (AB Stockholms Auktionsverkets), 16 April 1985 sqq., no. 568, as Willem van Mieris, SEK 20,000;{Note RMA.}…; anonymous sale [section 'Various Properties'], London (Christie’s), 12 december 1986, no. 53, £ 6,000, to Artemis Fine Arts Services, for the dealer Nicholas Stogdon, New York;{Note RMA.} from whom, fl. 280,000, to the museum, with support from the bequest of G.H. Sant, Amsterdam, 1990

  • Remarks

    Please note that this provenance was formulated with a special focus on provenance research for the years 1933-45 and could therefore be incomplete. There may be more (mostly earlier) provenance information known in the museum. In case this item has an uncertain or incomplete provenance for the years 1933-45, the Rijksmuseum welcomes information and assistance in the investigation and clarification of the provenance of all works during that era.

Documentation

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