Correggio's Danae
Recently I was looking at Danae, by Correggio. Antonio Allegri Correggio (1489—1534) was a rather sad fellow, fretful and disheartened who is said to have denied himself happiness in its many forms. He was rather different from Raphael, who was a happy party boy who screwed around every chance he got. Correggio was a contemporary of Leonardo and was generally admired, even liked, by other painters (not necessarily a given!).
Danae is a strange painting. Muted, greenish colors, darkness next to an open window…and let’s not forget the angel doing something with that naked lady’s blanket! I’ve got to admit that I don’t know the story of Danae. I imagine there are several Danae’s and each has a story, but I’m happy as well not to know. For, even though I can look it up easily enough, if I knew the story, that might take some of the charismatic weirdness from this image.
The attitude of the nude (nude woman, not spirit. After all, all the humanoid figures here are naked), is intriguing. Legs spread; massive long arms, head tilted down, eyes looking at nothing (is she high?), and seemingly uncomfortably propped up in bed.
The angel (with a diminutive penis) is not looking at her. He’s looking up. At God? At a fill light?! This muscular, winged youth, who inclines his body toward Danae, is at once also detached from her.
Is he offering her the sheet to cover her nakedness or is he pulling it away? It looks like she is pulling it back but whatever they are doing, they both seem only half interested.
Half interested, as opposed to the cherubs, the fat baby angels who are involved in something that has their total occupation. Are those kids playing with an arrow?
There is a light source out of frame to the right. The window, which occupies the left of the picture, does not seem to admit any luminosity. Outside we see a distant little building with two arches and the impression of hazy hills. The sky is a murky aqua.
The composition is solid. The fat babies in the lower right balance the window in the upper left. They do so imperfectly, adding a pleasing dynamic. As well, the larger figure of Danae is roughly the same size as the window, while the angel is roughly the size of the fat babies. One of the winged bambini leans back while the angel leans forward. The shadow side of the figures is toward to window, which is light. This is a composition of point and counterpoint.
This serenely erotic tableau of muted colors is full of interlocking relationships. There is a whole story with the pillows and the bed, a big story with the textures…and this is to ignore the most obvious point and counterpoint, the angel leaning forward while Danae leans back (in a state of cool receptivity?). The little willied angel looks up while the naked lady looks down. One can go on and on.
This appears at first glance a simple picture, but its intermingled composition of dynamic opposites makes it so much more. This is the work of a master.
