King Candaules of Lydia Showing his Wife to Gyges
Artist/Maker
DatesMade: Made ca 1646
Material / Technique
Dimensionsh x w: Mått 193 x 157 cm h x w x d: Ram 228 x 193 x 14 cm
Inventory numberNM 1159
AcqusitionGift 1872 Count Axel Bielke
Other titlesTitle (sv): Kung Kandaules av Lydien visar sin gemål för Gyges Title (en): King Candaules of Lydia Showing his Wife to Gyges
DescriptionDescription: Boasting of his wife’s beauty, the Greek king Candaules secretly showed his naked wife to his courtier Gyges. This is the moment captured by the painting, but the scene has been relocated to a 17th century milieu instead of Antiquity. The queen looks at us in a way that can be interpreted as both provocative and triumphant. In collusion with the Queen, Gyges murders the king and seizes the throne by her side. Catalogue raisonné: Description in Flemish paintings C. 1600-C. 1800 III, Nationalmuseum, Stockholm, 2010, cat.no. 105: Technical notes: The painting’s original support consists of two pieces of tightly woven, regular, plain weave, single-threaded fabric of near equal width, joined vertically through the centre with a seam, butt-joined and oversewn by hand, which is evident on the paint surface. The left strip of fabric has a selvedge at the left edge. The two strips are of identical weave and weight, with weave counts per cm of 15–17 threads in the warp and 15–16 threads in the weft, and probably come from the same bolt of canvas. The original support has been lined to a coarser, plain weave fabric, with irregular threads and frequent slubs and is mounted on a nonoriginal stretcher. The texture of the lining canvas is clearly apparent in the surface of the image, its appearance emphasized as a result of the lining process. The tacking edges of the original fabric support have been preserved on all sides, and cusping is visible along the bottom, and faintly along the left and top edges. The dimensions of the original paint surface have been very slightly reduced, at the top by c. 4.5 cm, by a past restorer who stretched the painting onto a slightly smaller strainer. The preparatory layers consist of a thick, smooth, white ground, followed by a thin, evenly applied, medium grey imprimatura, visible only in the original tacking edges, completely hide the weave texture of the original fabric support. The painting underwent conservation treatment in 1921, 1964, 1975, 1980 and 2008. Provenance: Probably purchased from Jordaens by Martinus van Langenhoven, The Hague about 1646; Coll. Magnus Gabriel De la Gardie, Jacobsdal; Coll. Magnus Gabriel De la Gardie, Läckö 1673–1675; Coll. Magnus Gabriel De la Gardie, Tureholm 1872; gift by Axel Bielke in 1872. Exhibited: Stockholm 1945, no. 86; Stockholm 1977, no. 86; Antwerp 1993, no. A 76; Stockholm 1996, no. 24; London 2002, no. 118; Stockholm 2005, no. 98; Düsseldorf 2008–2009; Stockholm 2010, no. 75. Bibliography: Rooses 1881, p. 364; Van den Branden 1883, pp. 826, 829; Göthe 1887, p. 127; Rooses 1890, p. 144; Göthe 1893, pp. 159–160; Rooses 1908, pp. 140–141; Granberg 1911, p. 114, no. 502; Granberg 1912, p. 76, no. 284, pl. 88; Granberg 1912, p. 76; Kauffmann 1927, p. 197; Granberg 1930, p. 67; Strömbom 1949, pp. 18, 80–82; Puyvelde 1953, p. 11, 42, 143; NM Cat. 1958, p. 102; Plietzsch 1960, p. 187, n. 1; Held 1962, p. 131, n. 3; Hubala 1971, p. 146; Pigler 1974, vol. III, p. 259; Naumann 1981, I, p. 93, n. 31; Donahue Kuretsky, Washington-Detroit-Antwerp, 1981, p. 286, under no. 87; D’Hulst 1982, pp. 230, 337 (58) ( 189); Moormann and Uitterkore 1989, p. 121; NM Cat. 1990, p. 185; Buijs and Van Berge-Gerbrand 1991, p 90 under no. 29, n. 18; Bjurström 1992, p. 30; Klessmann 1992, p. 158; D’Hulst-De Poorter-Vandenveen 1993, cat. A76, pp. 14, 236–239; Antwerp 1993, cat. A76, pp. 14, 18–19, 236–239; Vlieghe 1998, p. 63. The painting is neither signed nor dated but Puyvelde 1953 mentions that it was probably painted shortly before 1646. In a document from 1648 the artist testifies before a notary about the authenticity of five works he consigned to Martinus van Langenhoven, an art dealer in The Hague, over two years previously. Among the works was the story of King Candaules, a painting that he had not begun himself but which he claims that he had overpainted and reworked in such a way that in its final form it was “as good as his ordinary works”.1 This work is probably the same as the one acquired by Magnus Gabriel De la Gardie and which he successively kept at his estates of Jacosdal, Läckö and Tureholm where it was incorporated in the wall decoration of the “green bedroom” in the early 18th century.2 In this period Jordaens often repeated himself and his works are no longer of the same fresh quality as earlier. Female nudity play a great role in his compositions. Also noticeable in this painting is a decorative effect with ornamented and Venetian-inspired architecture in the background. Herodotus’ story of Candaules and Gyges was not a very common theme but was occasionally treated by Dutch and Flemish painters of the seventeenth century. Candaules, king of Lydia in the seventh century B.C., was murdered by one of his favourite courtiers named Gyges. The Greek legend gives two versions of the story. According to one of them Candaules used to boast of his wife’s extraordinary beauty: Gyges expressed scepticism and was allowed to view Queen Tydo naked without her knowledge. When the queen learned what had happened she was so furious that she made the king choose between being murdered himself or killing Gyges. Gyges after murdering Candaules was to rule Lydia as her husband (Herodotus I, 8–12). This story is also treated in contemporary emblem books, where it served as a warning against violating marital bedchambers. Jacob Cats used the theme in his Toneel vande mannelicke Achtbaerkeyt.3 Jordaens chooses the moment in the story when Gyges, concealed in the bed chamber, watches the queen cast off her last garments. This enabled him to paint another of his ideal female nudes, soft and luxurious in form, her skin gleaming in the bright light. The tiny lapdog, a typical detail in compositions in this genre, serves here to enhance the impression of the generously proportioned female figure. Jordaens’ treatment of the theme is not only remarkable because of its size. The queen’s gesture could have been shocking for the viewer. She looks the viewer directly in the eye inviting us, in the company of Gyges, to marvel at her naked body. Jordaens seems to have treated the theme on one other occasion. D’Hulst mentions a work with the same theme in Schloss Schleissheim which broadly corresponds in reverse to the image in Stockholm.4 The theme is included in a painting representing a Picture Gallery that was painted collectively by a number of Antwerp artists in the 1660s and probably intended for the Academy.5 Jordaens painting is in the lower right corner of the canvas. Jordaen’s Candaules was imitated by Jacob van Loo in Le coucher à l’italienne in the Musée des Beaux-Arts, Lyon (Fig. 1 ).6 The figures of Candaules and Gyges are missing but the female figure is a depiction of the Lydian Queen. GCB 1 Puylvelde 1953 (annex I). 2 In the Läckö inventory 1675 the painting was mentioned as “Nakot Qwins-Person som wander ändan fram, varit på Jacobsdahl, nedkommit A:o 1673”. 3 See d’Hulst-De Poorter-Vandenveen 1993, n. 4. 4 D’Hulst 1967b, p. 147. 5 Canvas 142.5 x 237, Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen, Staatsgalerie Neuburg an der Donau. See Jordaens 1993 under no. A76. 6 Inv. no. 1941–5, oil on canvas 187 x 143.[End]Boasting of his wife’s beauty, the Greek king Candaules secretly showed his naked wife to his courtier Gyges. This is the moment that the painting captures, but the scene has been relocated to a seventeenth-century milieu instead of Antiquity. The queen looks at us in a way that can be interpreted as both provocative and triumphant, as if to suggest the continuation of the story: in collusion with the Queen, Gyges murders the king and seizes the throne by her side. Description in Flemish paintings C. 1600-C. 1800 III, Nationalmuseum, Stockholm, 2010, cat.no. 105: Technical notes: The painting’s original support consists of two pieces of tightly woven, regular, plain weave, single-threaded fabric of near equal width, joined vertically through the centre with a seam, butt-joined and oversewn by hand, which is evident on the paint surface. The left strip of fabric has a selvedge at the left edge. The two strips are of identical weave and weight, with weave counts per cm of 15–17 threads in the warp and 15–16 threads in the weft, and probably come from the same bolt of canvas. The original support has been lined to a coarser, plain weave fabric, with irregular threads and frequent slubs and is mounted on a nonoriginal stretcher. The texture of the lining canvas is clearly apparent in the surface of the image, its appearance emphasized as a result of the lining process. The tacking edges of the original fabric support have been preserved on all sides, and cusping is visible along the bottom, and faintly along the left and top edges. The dimensions of the original paint surface have been very slightly reduced, at the top by c. 4.5 cm, by a past restorer who stretched the painting onto a slightly smaller strainer. The preparatory layers consist of a thick, smooth, white ground, followed by a thin, evenly applied, medium grey imprimatura, visible only in the original tacking edges, completely hide the weave texture of the original fabric support. The painting underwent conservation treatment in 1921, 1964, 1975, 1980 and 2008. Provenance: Probably purchased from Jordaens by Martinus van Langenhoven, The Hague about 1646; Coll. Magnus Gabriel De la Gardie, Jacobsdal; Coll. Magnus Gabriel De la Gardie, Läckö 1673–1675; Coll. Magnus Gabriel De la Gardie, Tureholm 1872; gift by Axel Bielke in 1872. Exhibited: Stockholm 1945, no. 86; Stockholm 1977, no. 86; Antwerp 1993, no. A 76; Stockholm 1996, no. 24; London 2002, no. 118; Stockholm 2005, no. 98; Düsseldorf 2008–2009; Stockholm 2010, no. 75. Bibliography: Rooses 1881, p. 364; Van den Branden 1883, pp. 826, 829; Göthe 1887, p. 127; Rooses 1890, p. 144; Göthe 1893, pp. 159–160; Rooses 1908, pp. 140–141; Granberg 1911, p. 114, no. 502; Granberg 1912, p. 76, no. 284, pl. 88; Granberg 1912, p. 76; Kauffmann 1927, p. 197; Granberg 1930, p. 67; Strömbom 1949, pp. 18, 80–82; Puyvelde 1953, p. 11, 42, 143; NM Cat. 1958, p. 102; Plietzsch 1960, p. 187, n. 1; Held 1962, p. 131, n. 3; Hubala 1971, p. 146; Pigler 1974, vol. III, p. 259; Naumann 1981, I, p. 93, n. 31; Donahue Kuretsky, Washington-Detroit-Antwerp, 1981, p. 286, under no. 87; D’Hulst 1982, pp. 230, 337 (58) ( 189); Moormann and Uitterkore 1989, p. 121; NM Cat. 1990, p. 185; Buijs and Van Berge-Gerbrand 1991, p 90 under no. 29, n. 18; Bjurström 1992, p. 30; Klessmann 1992, p. 158; D’Hulst-De Poorter-Vandenveen 1993, cat. A76, pp. 14, 236–239; Antwerp 1993, cat. A76, pp. 14, 18–19, 236–239; Vlieghe 1998, p. 63. The painting is neither signed nor dated but Puyvelde 1953 mentions that it was probably painted shortly before 1646. In a document from 1648 the artist testifies before a notary about the authenticity of five works he consigned to Martinus van Langenhoven, an art dealer in The Hague, over two years previously. Among the works was the story of King Candaules, a painting that he had not begun himself but which he claims that he had overpainted and reworked in such a way that in its final form it was “as good as his ordinary works”.1 This work is probably the same as the one acquired by Magnus Gabriel De la Gardie and which he successively kept at his estates of Jacosdal, Läckö and Tureholm where it was incorporated in the wall decoration of the “green bedroom” in the early 18th century.2 In this period Jordaens often repeated himself and his works are no longer of the same fresh quality as earlier. Female nudity play a great role in his compositions. Also noticeable in this painting is a decorative effect with ornamented and Venetian-inspired architecture in the background. Herodotus’ story of Candaules and Gyges was not a very common theme but was occasionally treated by Dutch and Flemish painters of the seventeenth century. Candaules, king of Lydia in the seventh century B.C., was murdered by one of his favourite courtiers named Gyges. The Greek legend gives two versions of the story. According to one of them Candaules used to boast of his wife’s extraordinary beauty: Gyges expressed scepticism and was allowed to view Queen Tydo naked without her knowledge. When the queen learned what had happened she was so furious that she made the king choose between being murdered himself or killing Gyges. Gyges after murdering Candaules was to rule Lydia as her husband (Herodotus I, 8–12). This story is also treated in contemporary emblem books, where it served as a warning against violating marital bedchambers. Jacob Cats used the theme in his Toneel vande mannelicke Achtbaerkeyt.3 Jordaens chooses the moment in the story when Gyges, concealed in the bed chamber, watches the queen cast off her last garments. This enabled him to paint another of his ideal female nudes, soft and luxurious in form, her skin gleaming in the bright light. The tiny lapdog, a typical detail in compositions in this genre, serves here to enhance the impression of the generously proportioned female figure. Jordaens’ treatment of the theme is not only remarkable because of its size. The queen’s gesture could have been shocking for the viewer. She looks the viewer directly in the eye inviting us, in the company of Gyges, to marvel at her naked body. Jordaens seems to have treated the theme on one other occasion. D’Hulst mentions a work with the same theme in Schloss Schleissheim which broadly corresponds in reverse to the image in Stockholm.4 The theme is included in a painting representing a Picture Gallery that was painted collectively by a number of Antwerp artists in the 1660s and probably intended for the Academy.5 Jordaens painting is in the lower right corner of the canvas. Jordaen’s Candaules was imitated by Jacob van Loo in Le coucher à l’italienne in the Musée des Beaux-Arts, Lyon (Fig. 1 ).6 The figures of Candaules and Gyges are missing but the female figure is a depiction of the Lydian Queen. GCB 1 Puylvelde 1953 (annex I). 2 In the Läckö inventory 1675 the painting was mentioned as “Nakot Qwins-Person som wander ändan fram, varit på Jacobsdahl, nedkommit A:o 1673”. 3 See d’Hulst-De Poorter-Vandenveen 1993, n. 4. 4 D’Hulst 1967b, p. 147. 5 Canvas 142.5 x 237, Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen, Staatsgalerie Neuburg an der Donau. See Jordaens 1993 under no. A76. 6 Inv. no. 1941–5, oil on canvas 187 x 143.[End]Boasting of his wife’s beauty, the Greek king Candaules secretly showed his naked wife to his courtier Gyges. This is the moment that the painting captures, but the scene has been relocated to a seventeenth-century milieu instead of Antiquity. The queen looks at us in a way that can be interpreted as both provocative and triumphant, as if to suggest the continuation of the story: in collusion with the Queen, Gyges murders the king and seizes the throne by her side. Description in Flemish paintings C. 1600-C. 1800 III, Nationalmuseum, Stockholm, 2010, cat.no. 105: Technical notes: The painting’s original support consists of two pieces of tightly woven, regular, plain weave, single-threaded fabric of near equal width, joined vertically through the centre with a seam, butt-joined and oversewn by hand, which is evident on the paint surface. The left strip of fabric has a selvedge at the left edge. The two strips are of identical weave and weight, with weave counts per cm of 15–17 threads in the warp and 15–16 threads in the weft, and probably come from the same bolt of canvas. The original support has been lined to a coarser, plain weave fabric, with irregular threads and frequent slubs and is mounted on a nonoriginal stretcher. The texture of the lining canvas is clearly apparent in the surface of the image, its appearance emphasized as a result of the lining process. The tacking edges of the original fabric support have been preserved on all sides, and cusping is visible along the bottom, and faintly along the left and top edges. The dimensions of the original paint surface have been very slightly reduced, at the top by c. 4.5 cm, by a past restorer who stretched the painting onto a slightly smaller strainer. The preparatory layers consist of a thick, smooth, white ground, followed by a thin, evenly applied, medium grey imprimatura, visible only in the original tacking edges, completely hide the weave texture of the original fabric support. The painting underwent conservation treatment in 1921, 1964, 1975, 1980 and 2008. Provenance: Probably purchased from Jordaens by Martinus van Langenhoven, The Hague about 1646; Coll. Magnus Gabriel De la Gardie, Jacobsdal; Coll. Magnus Gabriel De la Gardie, Läckö 1673–1675; Coll. Magnus Gabriel De la Gardie, Tureholm 1872; gift by Axel Bielke in 1872. Exhibited: Stockholm 1945, no. 86; Stockholm 1977, no. 86; Antwerp 1993, no. A 76; Stockholm 1996, no. 24; London 2002, no. 118; Stockholm 2005, no. 98; Düsseldorf 2008–2009; Stockholm 2010, no. 75. Bibliography: Rooses 1881, p. 364; Van den Branden 1883, pp. 826, 829; Göthe 1887, p. 127; Rooses 1890, p. 144; Göthe 1893, pp. 159–160; Rooses 1908, pp. 140–141; Granberg 1911, p. 114, no. 502; Granberg 1912, p. 76, no. 284, pl. 88; Granberg 1912, p. 76; Kauffmann 1927, p. 197; Granberg 1930, p. 67; Strömbom 1949, pp. 18, 80–82; Puyvelde 1953, p. 11, 42, 143; NM Cat. 1958, p. 102; Plietzsch 1960, p. 187, n. 1; Held 1962, p. 131, n. 3; Hubala 1971, p. 146; Pigler 1974, vol. III, p. 259; Naumann 1981, I, p. 93, n. 31; Donahue Kuretsky, Washington-Detroit-Antwerp, 1981, p. 286, under no. 87; D’Hulst 1982, pp. 230, 337 (58) ( 189); Moormann and Uitterkore 1989, p. 121; NM Cat. 1990, p. 185; Buijs and Van Berge-Gerbrand 1991, p 90 under no. 29, n. 18; Bjurström 1992, p. 30; Klessmann 1992, p. 158; D’Hulst-De Poorter-Vandenveen 1993, cat. A76, pp. 14, 236–239; Antwerp 1993, cat. A76, pp. 14, 18–19, 236–239; Vlieghe 1998, p. 63. The painting is neither signed nor dated but Puyvelde 1953 mentions that it was probably painted shortly before 1646. In a document from 1648 the artist testifies before a notary about the authenticity of five works he consigned to Martinus van Langenhoven, an art dealer in The Hague, over two years previously. Among the works was the story of King Candaules, a painting that he had not begun himself but which he claims that he had overpainted and reworked in such a way that in its final form it was “as good as his ordinary works”.1 This work is probably the same as the one acquired by Magnus Gabriel De la Gardie and which he successively kept at his estates of Jacosdal, Läckö and Tureholm where it was incorporated in the wall decoration of the “green bedroom” in the early 18th century.2 In this period Jordaens often repeated himself and his works are no longer of the same fresh quality as earlier. Female nudity play a great role in his compositions. Also noticeable in this painting is a decorative effect with ornamented and Venetian-inspired architecture in the background. Herodotus’ story of Candaules and Gyges was not a very common theme but was occasionally treated by Dutch and Flemish painters of the seventeenth century. Candaules, king of Lydia in the seventh century B.C., was murdered by one of his favourite courtiers named Gyges. The Greek legend gives two versions of the story. According to one of them Candaules used to boast of his wife’s extraordinary beauty: Gyges expressed scepticism and was allowed to view Queen Tydo naked without her knowledge. When the queen learned what had happened she was so furious that she made the king choose between being murdered himself or killing Gyges. Gyges after murdering Candaules was to rule Lydia as her husband (Herodotus I, 8–12). This story is also treated in contemporary emblem books, where it served as a warning against violating marital bedchambers. Jacob Cats used the theme in his Toneel vande mannelicke Achtbaerkeyt.3 Jordaens chooses the moment in the story when Gyges, concealed in the bed chamber, watches the queen cast off her last garments. This enabled him to paint another of his ideal female nudes, soft and luxurious in form, her skin gleaming in the bright light. The tiny lapdog, a typical detail in compositions in this genre, serves here to enhance the impression of the generously proportioned female figure. Jordaens’ treatment of the theme is not only remarkable because of its size. The queen’s gesture could have been shocking for the viewer. She looks the viewer directly in the eye inviting us, in the company of Gyges, to marvel at her naked body. Jordaens seems to have treated the theme on one other occasion. D’Hulst mentions a work with the same theme in Schloss Schleissheim which broadly corresponds in reverse to the image in Stockholm.4 The theme is included in a painting representing a Picture Gallery that was painted collectively by a number of Antwerp artists in the 1660s and probably intended for the Academy.5 Jordaens painting is in the lower right corner of the canvas. Jordaen’s Candaules was imitated by Jacob van Loo in Le coucher à l’italienne in the Musée des Beaux-Arts, Lyon (Fig. 1 ).6 The figures of Candaules and Gyges are missing but the female figure is a depiction of the Lydian Queen. GCB 1 Puylvelde 1953 (annex I). 2 In the Läckö inventory 1675 the painting was mentioned as “Nakot Qwins-Person som wander ändan fram, varit på Jacobsdahl, nedkommit A:o 1673”. 3 See d’Hulst-De Poorter-Vandenveen 1993, n. 4. 4 D’Hulst 1967b, p. 147. 5 Canvas 142.5 x 237, Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen, Staatsgalerie Neuburg an der Donau. See Jordaens 1993 under no. A76. 6 Inv. no. 1941–5, oil on canvas 187 x 143.[End]
Exhibited
Motif categoryReligion/Mythology
Collection
TechniquePainting
Object category
Keyword
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