Daphnis droomt over drie nimfen 1800

Jean Godefroy created this print, "Daphnis Dreams of Three Nymphs," sometime around the turn of the 19th century. The subject is taken from ancient Greek pastoral poetry, specifically the idyllic tales of the shepherd Daphnis, but Godefroy gives it a distinctly French spin. In the visual codes of the time, this scene of a dreaming man visited by nymphs evokes the kind of aristocratic libertinage that was both celebrated and satirized in French society. Note how the setting is not a lush landscape but an attic room, perhaps hinting at the voyeuristic fantasies of the upper classes. To understand this print fully, one might consult illustrated editions of classical texts popular at the time, along with social histories of the French aristocracy. It’s through this kind of contextual research that we can grasp how the artwork both participates in and subtly critiques the social norms of its era. The meaning of art is always contingent on its social and institutional context.