''Cyparissus'' is a 1620s
Baroque painting on a mythological subject from
Ovid
Pūblius Ovidius Nāsō (; 20 March 43 BC – 17/18 AD), known in English as Ovid ( ), was a Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus. He was a contemporary of the older Virgil and Horace, with whom he is often ranked as one of the ...
's ''
Metamorphoses'' by the
Italian painter
Jacopo Vignali. It is on display in the
Musée des Beaux-Arts of
Strasbourg, France, to which it had been donated by the collectors Othon Kaufmann and François Schlageter in 1994. Its inventory number is 994-1-8,
or 44.994.1.8.
The painting depicts the young
Cyparissus, mourning his pet
deer
Deer or true deer are hoofed ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. The two main groups of deer are the Cervinae, including the muntjac, the elk (wapiti), the red deer, and the fallow deer; and the Capreolinae, including the ...
, that he had mistakenly killed with his own
bow and arrow
The bow and arrow is a ranged weapon system consisting of an elasticity (physics), elastic launching device (bow) and long-shafted projectiles (arrows). Humans used bows and arrows for hunting and aggression long before recorded history, and the ...
. The young boy's pain is amplified beyond the description given by Ovid, and possibly inspired by a 1624
Venetian
Venetian often means from or related to:
* Venice, a city in Italy
* Veneto, a region of Italy
* Republic of Venice (697–1797), a historical nation in that area
Venetian and the like may also refer to:
* Venetian language, a Romance language s ...
edition of
Giovanni Andrea dell' Anguillara's ''Metamorfosi ridotte in ottava rima'', in which the tearful aspect of the story is emphasized.
It is one of the very few
profane
Profane may refer to:
* Profane (religion), a thing which is not sacred
* Profanity, foul language
* ''Profane'' (film), a 2011 film
* Profanity (instant messaging client)
Profanity is a text mode instant messaging interface that supports the XM ...
paintings by Vignali.
References
External links
''Cyparissus'', presentation on the museum's website
{{Authority control
Paintings in the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Strasbourg
1620s paintings
Mythological paintings
Baroque paintings
Italian paintings
Paintings about death
Animals and humans
Oil on canvas paintings
Paintings based on Metamorphoses