Exhibition

The Lure of Myth

Subjects drawn from Greek and Roman mythology have appealed to artists for many centuries. Often dealing with epic struggles, feats of courage, or amorous adventures...
Edward Francis Burney (1760-1848), Apollo and his Chariot, early 19th century, pen and watercolor. The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens.

Edward Francis Burney (1760-1848), Apollo and his Chariot, early 19th century, pen and watercolor. The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens.

Subjects drawn from Greek and Roman mythology have appealed to artists for many centuries. Often dealing with epic struggles, feats of courage, or amorous adventures, mythological stories were appreciated for their originality, heroic characters, and drama. This small exhibition features the work of British artists of the 18th and 19th centuries who experimented with these subjects, including James Thornhill, Thomas Gainsborough, Henry Fuseli, and Richard Dadd. It complements the exhibition “Beauty and Power: Renaissance and Baroque Bronzes from the Peter Marino Collection,” which includes many examples of mythological subjects in sculpture.