Ceres Begging for Jupiter's Thunderbolt after the Kidnapping of Her Daughter Proserpine

Antoine-François Callet (French, 1741–1823)

1777

Medium/TechniqueOil on canvas

DimensionsOverall: 200 x 250 cm (78 3/4 x 98 7/16 in.)
Framed: 229.2 x 286.4 x 9.5 cm (90 1/4 x 112 3/4 x 3 3/4 in.)

Credit LineHenry H. and Zoe Oliver Sherman Fund

Accession number2008.173

On View

Not on view

ClassificationsPaintings

Collections

Europe

Description

Ceres, the Roman goddess of agriculture, is depicted in this monumental painting imploring Jupiter and Juno to help retrieve her daughter, Proserpine, from the underworld. Callet shows the grieving and vengeful mother holding the torches that symbolize her search. This composition earned Callet entry into France's Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture in 1777 and received much praise at the Salon that year.

Provenance1777, exhibited by Callet at the Salon [see note 1]. 1930, private collection; May 26, 1930, anonymous ("M. L. S.") sale, Galerie Fievez, Brussels, lot 97 [see note 2]. Private collection, Antwerp. November 12, 2007, anonymous sale, Bernaerts, Antwerp, lot 276A [see note 3]. 2008, Didier Aaron et Cie., Paris; sold by Didier Aaron to the MFA. (Accession Date: June 25, 2008)

NOTES:
[1] This was Callet's "morceau d'agrément," the work of art that earned him acceptance in 1777 to the Académie Royale de Peintre et de Sculpture. [2] Attributed in the catalogue to Elisabeth Vigée-Lebrun and titled "Jupiter." [3] Attributed in the sale to Louis-Jean François Lagrenée.