Danaë - Tiepolo

The legend : Acrisios, Danaë's father, had learned from an oracle that his daughter would have a son who would kill him. He had a bronze chamber built underground, where he locked up Danaë. But Zeus, transformed into a shower of gold, penetrated through a crack in the roof to the young girl, who conceived Perseus. Here: ironic treatment of the story. Danaë is ugly, Jupiter is an old man. The bed has been moved out of the room, in theatrical outdoor architecture. In the foreground, a small pet dog confronts the allegorical eagle, Jupiter's attribute.