Ganymede 1913

Christian Wilhelm Allers created 'Ganymede' using oil paints, a medium that allowed him to blend colors and create smooth, idealized surfaces. The way oil paint handles has strongly influenced the image, particularly how the artist modeled the figures of Ganymede and the eagle. The layering of thin glazes created depth and luminosity in the flesh tones and the eagle's feathers. Oil paint also allowed Allers to capture the softness of the clouds, blurring the lines between the mythical and the material. Historically, oil painting has been associated with a certain kind of labor, involving the slow, careful application of pigment by skilled workers. But the subject matter pulls us in another direction, towards idealized form, beauty, and the classical tradition. Allers asks us to consider how craft and fine art are intertwined.