Jupiter and Antiope - Hendrik Goltzius

RESEARCH

Depicts the god Jupiter, disguised as a Satyr, seducing the beautiful Antiope. She is asleep, sprawed across luxurious cushions as the lecherous god creeps towards her. From this, Antiope became pregnant with twins - Amphion and Zethus. After she gave birth, Antiope was hounded by vengeful relatives and was only rescued after many years by her two adult sons.

There is a young Satyr in the background, seemingly in cahoots with Jupiter.

Satyr - Outdated term "satryiasis" means the nymphs male equivalent

Nymph - Source of the psychological term "nymphomania" now known as hyper sexuality.

Nymphs are usually shown as beautiful and physically perfect - ivory, light, delicate colours, similar to Venus. On the other hand, the satyrs were depicted as very ugly and horned often with goat features. Satyrs are also known to be followers of Bacchus; God of the grape harvest, fertility, insanity, festivity and ritual madness.

JUPITER

• God of sky and thunder
• King of the gods
• Negotiated with the second king of Rome to establish principles of Roman religion such as offerings or sacrifice
• Symbols include the lightning bolt, eagle (Roman army) and the oak tree
• Jupiter was the brother of Neptune and Pluto, each ruled 1 of the 3 realms
• Married twin sister Juno and they had many children including: Mars, God of war, Bellona, Goddess of war, Vulcan, God of fire, metwal working and the forge, Juventus, oversaw the transition between childhood to adulthood and rejuevenation. 
• Jupiter was frequently unfaithful
• Jupiter defeated father Saturn and took control of the cosmos

PAINTING FEATURES

• Antiope is naked apart from her earrings, a pearl necklace and a strip of transpaernt drapery, which extentuates her nudity rather than cover it.
• Grapes, appleas and pears are visible in the scene which are all symbols of fertility.
• You can see inverted slippers and a chamber pot, both things that represent the female sexual organs. Alludes to what happens next.

TATTOOOS

Jupiter was the king of all gods and this is represented by the crown.

The thunder dagger tattoo is showing Jupiter's ability to command thunder. The dagger is there to represent warfare and how Jupiter was responsible for helping the Romans succeed in war.

The roman helmet is the symbol of the roman army which often thanked Jupiter for their success in war.

Jupiter's wife Juno was the queen of all gods. Her sprirt animal is the peacock so this tattoo represents her. 

One of Jupiter's spirit animals is the eagle. The eagle was also the symbol for the roman army which is why the skull is morphed with the eagle. Wherever the eagle (roman army) went, death followed.

I decorated Antiopes body with a juxtaposition of dangerous and delicate creatures. I ensured to paint them in the same colour pallette to disguise the menancing animals, so that they appear harmless, mimicing Jupiter and his intentions.

She is also adorned with depictions of fruit; fruit often it is a symbol of abundance, associated with goddesses of fertility, plenty, and the harvest. Sometimes, however, fruit represents earthly pleasures, overindulgence, and temptation. Therefore, the fruit highlights the future conceivement of Jupiters children.

This is a more explicit implication on the sexual act that is just about to occur - a dagger penetrating an orange, a fruit that has connotations to the female genitalia. This fits in with othe refrences of the female anatonomy in the painting, such as the inverted slippers and champer pot.

Antiope also has tied knots wrapping around her ankles which alludes to her future imprisonment by her father because of her shamed pregnancy.