Ixion attempting to seduce Juno, surrounded by clouds with ruins below
Medium
Engraving
Dimensions
Sheet: 10 5/16 × 6 15/16 in. (26.2 × 17.6 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, 1954
Accession Number
54.573.5
Tags
Art Historical Context
This striking engraving captures a dramatic moment from classical mythology: Ixion, the Thessalian king, attempting to seduce Juno (the Roman goddess Hera) amid billowing clouds, with ancient ruins visible below. Created 1520–39, the work reflects the Renaissance fascination with Greco-Roman legends, which often served as vehicles for exploring themes of desire, hubris, and divine retribution. Ixion’s tale ends in punishment—he was bound to a fiery wheel—yet here the focus rests on the tense encounter, enriched by symbolic details such as lions, chariots, and a nude female figure evoking Juno’...
About the Artist
Giovanni Jacopo Caraglio|Perino del Vaga (Pietro Buonaccorsi) · 1500–1565
Italian, Parma or Verona ca. 1500/1505–1565 Krakow (?)