STUDIO OF JACOB JORDAENS (ANTWERP 1593-1678)

The subject of this painting is recounted in the play Prometheus Bound attributed to the Greek tragedian Aeschylus and possibly completed after his death. The Titan Prometheus is said to have assisted Zeus in establishing rule over the Titans but angered him by promoting humans and providing them with fire from Mount Olympus and the arts. As punishment, Zeus ordered that Prometheus be nailed to a high rock in the Caucasus, where an eagle would devour his perpetually regenerating liver on a daily basis.

The present painting is a reduced studio repetition of Jordaens’ largescale painting datable to circa 1640 (Wallraf-Richartz-Museum, Cologne), which in turn derives from Sir Peter Paul Rubens’ famous painting of circa 1611-12 executed in collaboration with the animal painter Frans Snyders (Philadelphia Museum of Art).