FRENCH OR FLEMISH, EARLY 18TH CENTURY

The subject matter of Leda and the Swan was highly popular during Renaissance times, especially in France and Italy, with northern European versions being rare (see M. Bull, The Mirror of the Gods: Classical Mythology in Renaissance Art, London, p. 170). In this mythological story, which appears very briefly in Ovid's Metamorphoses, Jupiter transforms himself into a swan to then seduce Leda, mortal queen of Sparta, in a scene that was, at times, highly erotic. The present composition showing Leda reclining is a more common depiction of this story, and may be loosely based on Michelangelo's 1503 oil on canvas, a copy of which exists in the National Gallery, London.

This carved wood relief was probably part of a series of wall panels depicting mythological scenes and, due to its erotic nature, may have been out of view in a private room in a wealthy household.