Pegasus 1663 - 1665

Jacob Jordaens painted this depiction of Pegasus, the winged horse of Greek myth, sometime in the 17th century. In this canvas, Pegasus’s strike creates the Hippocrene spring as cherubic figures frolic nearby; a satyr peers from the right side of the frame. Jordaens worked in Antwerp during the Baroque period. Consider how the mythology depicted here might have been viewed by the artist’s contemporaries. Was this a simple celebration of antiquity, or did it serve to reinforce existing social norms? Perhaps it offered a vision of an alternative social order? To truly understand a work like this, we might look to period texts, political pamphlets, and the writings of contemporary social critics. Only then can we start to understand the artistic and social landscape in which Jordaens was working. The study of art demands that we engage with its complex historical context.