The Torture of Ixion
Artist
Giovanni Battista Langetti
(Italian, 1635 - 1676)
Datemid to late 17th century
Object number64.0455
Mediumoil on canvas
Dimensions76 1/4 × 101 1/4 in. (193.6 × 257.2 cm)
ClassificationsPainting
Credit LineMuseo de Arte de Ponce. The Luis A. Ferré Foundation, Inc.
Collections
On View
Not on viewDescriptionIn Greco-Roman mythology, Ixion was a king of the Lapiths who tried to seduce Hera, the wife of the ruler of the gods. As a punishment, Ixion was bound to a fiery wheel and condemned to spin for all eternity. Artists were attracted to subjects such as this because they provided the challenge to depict the human form in the utmost extreme of pain. Langetti uses diagonals, contrasts of light and shadow and the typically Genoese handling of paint to convey intense physical and psychological suffering. With blood rushing to his face and neck, Ixion lets out a desperate and useless cry.
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