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
Dimensionsdepth 3.8 cm, height 64 cm x width 53.3 cm
Physical characteristicsolieverf op doek

Circe Punishes Glaucus by Turning Scylla into a Monster

Identification

Title(s)
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
olieverf op doek
Material
Dimensions
- depth 3.8 cm
- height 64 cm x width 53.3 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
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

Persistent URL

To refer to this object, please use the following persistent URL:
https://id.rijksmuseum.nl/20029034