Pandora's Box
Jean Schonwalter, Pandora's Box, 1971, lithograph on paper, Gift of the Artist, © unknown, research required, 92.178
This work is not currently on view.
- Title
Pandora's Box
- Artist
- Date
1971
- Medium
lithograph on paper
- Edition
22/50
- Dimensions (H x W x D)
image: 15 5/8 in x 11 in; sheet: 22 in x 16 in
- Inscriptions & Markings
title; edition; signature: PANDORA'S BOX 22/50 / JEAN SCHONWALTER, graphite, lower middle Language: English
- Collection Area
Graphic Arts
- Category
Prints
- Object Type
planographic print
- Culture
American
- Credit Line
Gift of the Artist
- Accession Number
92.178
- Copyright
© unknown, research required
- Terms
In Greek myth, the smith god Hephaistos created Pandora, the very first woman, at Zeus’s request. Every god gave Pandora (whose name means “all-gifts”) a present; Zeus’s gift to her was a sealed box, which he forbade her to open. Overcome by curiosity, she peered inside and unwittingly unleashed all the sorrows of life: disease, grief, strife, and conflict. The only thing left remaining in the box was Elpis (hope).
In Jean Schonwalter’s twentieth-century version, Pandora’s Box is a do-it-yourself folding contraption illustrated with a hint of what’s inside.
- Exhibitions
2012 Mythologia: Gods, Heroes, and Monsters Portland Art Museum
