Danae 1643 by Rembrandt Van Rijin

The whole life of Rembrandt Van Rijin, he painted more than 500 famous artworks. His works are closely associated with his life’s experience.

In Greek mythology, Danae was a daughter of King Acrisius of Argos and his wife Queen Eurydice. Eurydice never ever had born a boy. Disappointed by his lack of male heirs, Acrisius asked an oracle whether this would change. The oracle told him that he would be killed by his daughter’s son. Nevertheless, Danae was childless. In order to keep her so, he close her down in a bronze tower or cave. But Zeus came to her in the form of golden rain, and impregnated her. Therefore, she was pregnant in the bronze of tower or cave. In this baroque painting, Danae is lying on her in the bed, naked. It is obvious that she is pregnant. Her left hand is on the pillow, but she stretches forth right hand, which seems that she is waiting something or hopes someone can save her. Her eyes are full of eagerness. At the same time, in the deep of her eyes, we can find her desperation. She doesn’t know who can help her and what she can do. The only thing she can do is waiting. Refer to Rembrandt’s life at that time, his painting The Nightwatch offended the rich and powerful families so that less and less people

bought his paintings. As a result, he could not make ends meet. For him, he had the same situation with Danae. He didn’t know how to change the situation. He was also looking forward to changing. This great job shows his mood and situation at that time.

The Nightwatch 1642 by Rembrandt Van Rijn
The Nightwatch 1642