// Workers AI · dad joke modeWhat did Clytie say as a sunflower? A-maize-ing change.
| Clytie Transformed into a Sunflower | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Artist | Jean-François de Troy |
| Year | c. 1730 |
| Medium | oil on canvas |
| Dimensions | 126 cm × 142.2 cm (50 in × 56.0 in) |
| Location | |
Clytie Transformed into a Sunflower is an oil on canvas painting by the French artist Jean-François de Troy, from c. 1730. It is held at the Musée du Grand Siècle, in Saint-Cloud.[1]
History and description
[edit]Originally designed as an overdoor panel with a curved top, this horizontal painting is a mythological work illustrating a passage from Book IV of Ovid’s Metamorphoses, where the nymph Clytie is transformed into a flower, specifically a heliotrope.[2]
The composition portrays the young Oceanid seated with her bare breasts, in a landscape bathed in veiled sunlight. She turns and leans lovingly toward the sun. A sunflower begins to grow from the top of her head, also oriented toward the luminous celestial body, extending the nymph’s gesture toward Helios, the sun god.[3]
The painting belongs to the tradition of mythological allegory and explores themes of unrequited love, transformation, and celestial devotion. Clytie’s metamorphosis into a sunflower symbolizes her eternal gaze toward Helios, embodying both longing and constancy.[4]
Provenance
[edit]It was part of the inaugural donation made by Pierre Rosenberg to the Musée du Grand Siècle, in Saint-Cloud, where its held.
References
[edit]- ↑ Musée du Grand Siècle (French)
- ↑ Yuriko Jackall, Jean-François de Troy - History Painter À la Mode, University of London (Courtauld Institute of Art), 2000
- ↑ Christophe Leribault, Jean-François de Troy (1679-1752), University of Michigan, 2002
- ↑ Musée du Grand Siècle (French)