Greek mythology was a source of inspiration for Pablo Picasso throughout his career. In this print, Picasso specifically referenced The Metamorphoses by the Roman poet Ovid, a narrative poem that chronicled the history of the world within a loose mythical framework. Danaé was the daughter of King Acrisios, who had been warned by an oracle that his daughter’s son would kill him. Out of fear, Acrisios imprisoned the childless Danaé in a bronze tower. Zeus, however, had become enraptured with the Princess and impregnated Danaé in the form of golden rain. This is the otherworldly moment Picasso chose to depict in his linocut of Danaé. Upon a plush bed, Danaé is rendered in the nude, deconstructed into two halves, and positioned behind a framework of black lines that symbolize the confines of her prison. The result of this union was a son named Perseus, the demigod who slayed the gorgon Medusa and who eventually went on to accidentally kill Acrisios, tragically fulfilling the oracle’s prophecy. The rich colors of this linocut add vibrancy to the ancient myth.
