Leda and the Swan 1510

Leonardo da Vinci’s “Leda and the Swan”, which was painted in Italy sometime in the late 15th or early 16th century, is now known only from copies and drawings, the original being destroyed. The image takes as its subject a scene from classical mythology, depicting the seduction, or rape, of Leda by Zeus disguised as a swan. What does it mean to take such a violent encounter as the subject for painting? Italian Renaissance culture was steeped in the imagery and stories of antiquity. Artists gained status by demonstrating their mastery of inherited forms. The display of the nude was a chance to show off skill and knowledge of anatomy. But we also need to consider that rape myths such as this one were often used to justify male sexual violence. Historians of art are detectives. By tracking the forms, the themes, and the reception of works such as this one, they try to reconstruct the complex set of social and institutional relations that make art possible.