Hephaistos
Leonard Baskin, Hephaistos, 1963, etching on Fabriano paper, Museum Purchase: Helen Thurston Ayer Fund, © The Estate of Leonard Baskin; Courtesy Galerie St. Etienne, New York, 63.9
This work is not currently on view.
- Title
Hephaistos
- Artist
- Date
1963
- Medium
etching on Fabriano paper
- Edition
XXIII/LX
- Catalogue Raisonné
Fern 448
- Dimensions (H x W x D)
image: 17 9/16 in x 14 3/4 in; plate: 17 9/16 in x 14 7/8 in; sheet: 26 1/4 in x 20 in
- Inscriptions & Markings
signature: Baskin, graphite, lower right
edition: XVII/1X, graphite, lower left
- Collection Area
Graphic Arts
- Category
Prints
- Object Type
intaglio print
- Culture
American
- Credit Line
Museum Purchase: Helen Thurston Ayer Fund
- Accession Number
63.9
- Copyright
© The Estate of Leonard Baskin; Courtesy Galerie St. Etienne, New York
- Terms
Hephaistos (whom the Romans knew as Vulcan) was the Greek god of the smith and was often depicted working at his fiery forge. He was married to the unfaithful Aphrodite, the goddess of love, who consorted with Ares. Hephaistos, resolved to catch the guilty lovers, forged a fine net that would capture them in bed. His plan succeeded, but the other Olympian gods, rather than taking his side, merely laughed at him.
Leonard Baskin presents Hephaistos not as the swarthy, muscular blacksmith more common in visual arts, but as a forlorn figure holding flowers, perhaps in an attempt to win back the love of fickle Aphrodite.
- Exhibitions
2007 Graphic Force, Humanist Vision: Leonard Baskin Works on Paper Portland Art Museum
2012 Mythologia: Gods, Heroes, and Monsters Portland Art Museum
