Danae

The wall tapestry with the scene of Danae forms part of a six-part series. The young woman was shut away with her nurse by her father King Acrisius of Argos on the Peloponnese, as the oracle of Delphi had predicted that the king would meet a violent death at the hands of his grandson. Zeus evaded Acrisius's precautions by entering Danae's chamber in the form of a shower of golden rain, impregnating the lovely Danae and conceiving Perseus. The series was commissioned by the French king François I. The pictures were not based on specially prepared cartoons but on scenes on the south wall of the Great Gallery in the château at Fontainebleau. When it was converted into the medium of textiles, the whole wall context was therefore taken into account. Each tapestry shows not only the fresco concerned but also the surrounding stucco work, the cornice and the start of the coffered ceiling. This makes the trompe l'œil effect unique among French tapestries in the sixteenth century. Aus: Das Kunsthistorische Museum in Wien, Prestel Museumsführer, München/Berlin/London/New York 2007, 118 (Katja Schmitz-von Ledebur).