Cleveland Museum of Art
Aurora and Cephalus
Anne-Louis Girodet de Roucy-Trioson
- Date
- c.1810
- Medium
- oil on canvas
- Culture
- France, 19th century
- Department
- Modern European Painting and Sculpture
- Institution
- Cleveland Museum of Art
The goddess of the dawn, Aurora, fell in love with the shepherd Cephalus. She eventually seized him at daybreak, bringing him to the heavens while he slept—the scene Girodet has painted here. Later, missing his wife, Procris, Cephalus begs to return. Aurora agrees, giving him a magic spear that kills every target, including his wife, when he mistakes her for an animal in the brush. This myth subverts typical gender dynamics: usually a man captures a woman, but in this story the trope reversed.
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