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The Sleeping Danae Analysis

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The Sleeping Danae Analysis
Henry Lam
Art 431
Prof. Adams

The Sleeping Danae

A painting of eroticism and fortune depicted in Hendrik Goltzius vision was painted in 1600. The medium used for this is oil on canvas. Goltzius was inspired by the nudes painting created by a Venetian painter, Titian. Goltzius 's intentions was to seduces the viewers with the nude female and evokes wealth with the random scattering of money in this scene. The purpose of this painting was to show off the freedom and enjoyment of sex and money. In the background there is a god named Mercury who is holding a caduceus rod. Mercury is a god of financial gain and luck. The patron of this painting is unknown, but from observing the contents within this image, one may assume he is wealthy and enjoys a life of eroticism. The reasons why this patron may be wealthy is the coins scattered across the floor and bags of coins held by some of the putti figures and there is god of financial gain, Mercury, in the background overlooking Danae. The patron enjoys the theme of sex is because of the nude female figure and the puttis around her. Putti are usually associated with Aphrodite that symbolizes romantic or erotic. …show more content…
Perhaps in the living room or in the bedroom of the merchants. The painting has the theme of sex it would make sense to be placed in the bedroom for sexual activity, but possibly in the living room to show off the luxurious life of being wealthy and enjoying a life of erotic fun. Any one that observes this painting would see that the main focus of this painting is the sleeping nude female since all the other figures are looking at her, which gives a sense of directional line to her. Another element that Goltizus uses to make Danae the main focus of this painting is the majority of the highlights is on her body. There is a usage of contrapposto in Danae 's figure, her shoulders are slanted one way and her hips are in a different
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