Étienne Maurice Falconet: Pygmalion et Galatée (1763)

Pygmalion is a legendary figure of Cyprus. Though Pygmalion is the Greek version of the Phoenician royal name Pumayyaton,^[1] he is most familiar from Ovid's Metamorphoses, X, in which Pygmalion is a sculptor who falls in love with a statue he has made. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (504x766, 77 KB) Summary Étienne Maurice Falconet: Pygmalion & Galatee (1763) Licensing This image is in the public domain because its copyright has expired in the United States and those countries with a copyright term of life of the author plus 100... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (504x766, 77 KB) Summary Étienne Maurice Falconet: Pygmalion & Galatee (1763) Licensing This image is in the public domain because its copyright has expired in the United States and those countries with a copyright term of life of the author plus 100... Falconets awesome statue of Peter I has become one of the symbols of St Petersburg Étienne Maurice Falconet (1716 - 1791), is counted among the first rank of French Rococo sculptors, patronized by Mme de Pompadour. ... For other uses, see Legend (disambiguation). ... Phoenicia (nonstandardly, Phenicia; pronounced [1], Greek: : Phoiníkē, Latin: ) was an ancient civilization centered in the north of ancient Canaan, with its heartland along the coastal regions of modern day Lebanon, Syria and Israel. ... For other uses, see Ovid (disambiguation). ... // Cover of George Sandyss 1632 edition of Ovids Metamorphosis Englished The Metamorphoses by the Roman poet Ovid is a poem in fifteen books that describes the creation and history of the world in terms according to Greek and Roman points of view. ...

In Ovid's narrative, Pygmalion was a Cypriot sculptor who carved a woman out of ivory. According to Ovid, after seeing the Propoetides prostituting themselves, he is 'not interested in women', but his statue is so realistic that he falls in love with it. He offers the statue presents and eventually prays to Venus (Aphrodite). She takes pity on him and brings the statue to life. They marry and have a son, Paphos,^[2] to whom the author of Bibliotheke adds a daughter, Metharme.^[3] Diverse women. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... There are very few or no other articles that link to this one. ... For other uses, see Venus (disambiguation). ... The Birth of Venus, (detail) by Sandro Botticelli, 1485 For other uses, see Aphrodite (disambiguation). ... The Bibliotheke was renowned as the chief work of Greek historian and scholar. ... In Greek mythology, Queen Metharme of Cyprus was the daughter of Pygmalion, wife of Cinyras and mother of Adonis and Myrrha. ...

Ovid's mention of Paphos suggests that he was drawing on the same sources as the brief account of Pygmalion and Galatea in Bibliotheke, a Hellenic mythography of the second-century CE that was formerly attributed to Apollodorus. Pygmalion is the Greek version of the Phoenician royal name Pumayyaton, and Galatea figures in the founding legend of Paphos in Cyprus. Pygmalion and Galatea (1890) by Jean-Léon Gérôme (1824-1904) Galatea (she who is milk-white)[1] was the name of three figures in Greek mythology, the best-known being the wife of Pygmalion. ... The Bibliotheke was renowned as the chief work of Greek historian and scholar. ... Apollodorus was a common name in ancient Greece. ... District Paphos Government  - Mayor Savvas Vergas Population (2001)  - City 47,300 Time zone EET (UTC+2) Website: http://www. ...

Parallels in the technology of the time

The story of the breath of life in a statue has parallels in the example of Daedalus, who uses quicksilver to install a voice in his statues; of Hephaestus who creates automata for his workshop; of Talos, an artificial man of bronze; and, according to Hesiod, Pandora— made from clay at the behest of Zeus. Daedalus and Icarus, by Charles Paul Landon, 1799 (Musée des Beaux-Arts et de la Dentelle, Alençon) In Greek mythology, Daedalus (Latin, also Hellenized Latin Daedalos, Greek Daidalos (Δαίδαλος) meaning cunning worker, and Etruscan Taitle) was a most skillful artificer, so skillful that he was said to have invented... This article is about the element. ... Hephaestus (pronounced or ; Greek HÄ“phaistos) was a Greek god whose Roman equivalent was Vulcan; he was the god of technology, blacksmiths, craftsmen, artisans, sculptors, metals and metallurgy, and fire. ... The Canard Digérateur of Jacques de Vaucanson, hailed in 1739 as the first automaton capable of digestion. ... Winged Talos armed with a stone. ... Roman bronze bust, the so-called Pseudo-Seneca, now identified by some as possibly Hesiod Hesiod (Hesiodos, ) was an early Greek poet and rhapsode, who presumably lived around 700 BC. Hesiod and Homer, with whom Hesiod is often paired, have been considered the earliest Greek poets whose work has survived... For other uses, see Pandora (disambiguation) and Pandoras box (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Zeus (disambiguation). ...

The discovery of the Antikythera mechanism suggests that such rumoured animated statues had some grounding in contemporary mechanical technology. The island of Rhodes was particularly known for its displays of mechanical engineering and automata - Pindar, one of the nine lyric poets of ancient Greece, said this of Rhodes in his seventh Olympic Ode: The Antikythera mechanism (main fragment). ... This article is about the Greek island of Rhodes. ... For the PINDAR military bunker in London, please see the PINDAR section of Military citadels under London Pindar (or Pindarus, Greek: ) (probably born 522 BC in Cynoscephalae, a village in Boeotia; died 443 BC in Argos), was a Greek lyric poet. ... The nine lyric poets (nine melic poets) were a canon of archaic Greek composers esteemed by the scholars of Hellenistic Alexandria as worthy of critical study. ...

"The animated figures stand

Adorning every public street

And seem to breathe in stone, or

move their marble feet."

The trope of a sculpture so lifelike it seemed about to move was a commonplace in Antiquity inherited by writers on art after the Renaissance A trope is a rhetorical figure of speech that consists of a play on words, i. ...

Sources

The Greek sources of Ovid's tale are fully discussed at Galatea. Pygmalion and Galatea (1890) by Jean-Léon Gérôme (1824-1904) Galatea (she who is milk-white)[1] was the name of three figures in Greek mythology, the best-known being the wife of Pygmalion. ...

Re-interpretations of Pygmalion

uprightPygmalion and Galatea (1890) by Jean-Léon Gérôme (1824-1904)

The basic Pygmalion story has been widely transmitted and re-presented in the arts through the centuries. At an unknown date, later authors give the name of the statue as the sea-nymph Galatea or Galathea. Goethe calls her Elise, based upon the variants in the story of Dido/Elissa. Pygmalion and Galatea by Jean-Leon Gerome (1824-1904). ... Pygmalion and Galatea by Jean-Leon Gerome (1824-1904). ... Pollice Verso by Jean-Léon Gérôme, 1872, is the immediate source of the thumbs down gesture in popular culture. ... In Greek mythology, a nymph is any member of a large class of female nature entities, either bound to a particular location or landform or joining the retinue of a god or goddess. ... Pygmalion and Galatea (1890) by Jean-Léon Gérôme (1824-1904) Galatea (she who is milk-white)[1] was the name of three figures in Greek mythology, the best-known being the wife of Pygmalion. ... Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (pronounced [gø tə]) (August 28, 1749–March 22, 1832) was a German writer, politician, humanist, scientist, and philosopher. ...

In the Middle Ages Pygmalion was held up as an example of the excesses of idolatry, probably spurred by Clement of Alexandria's suggestion that Pygmalion had carved an image of Aphrodite herself. Although, by the 18th century it was a highly influential love-story, seen as such in Rousseau's musical play of the story. By the 19th century, the story often becomes one in which the awakened beloved rejects Pygmalion; although she comes alive, she is initially cold and unattainable. The Middle Ages formed the middle period in a traditional schematic division of European history into three ages: the classical civilization of Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and modern times, beginning with the Renaissance. ... The Adoration of the Golden Calf by Nicolas Poussin Idolatry is a major sin in the Abrahamic religions regarding image. ... Clement of Alexandria (Titus Flavius Clemens), was the first member of the Church of Alexandria to be more than a name, and one of its most distinguished teachers. ... (17th century - 18th century - 19th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 18th century refers to the century that lasted from 1701 through 1800. ... Rousseau is a French surname. ... Alternative meaning: Nineteenth Century (periodical) (18th century — 19th century — 20th century — more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 19th century was that century which lasted from 1801-1900 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar. ...

A twist on this theme can also be seen in the story of Pinocchio where a wooden puppet is transformed into a real boy, though in this case the puppet possesses sentience prior to its transformation, and it is the puppet and not the woodcarver (sculptor) who beseeches the miracle. For other uses, see Pinocchio (disambiguation). ...

William Shakespeare has a version of the legend in The Winter's Tale when Hermione is seen as a lifelike statue in the final scene. Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ... Florizel and Perdita by Charles Robert Leslie. ...

Paintings

The story has been the subject of notable paintings by Jean-Léon Gérôme, Honoré Daumier, Edward Burne-Jones (four major works from 1868-1870, then again in larger versions from 1875-1878), Auguste Rodin, Ernest Normand, Paul Delvaux, Francisco Goya, Franz von Stuck, Francois Boucher, and Thomas Rowlandson, among others. There have also been numerous sculptures of the 'awakening'. Pollice Verso by Jean-Léon Gérôme, 1872, is the immediate source of the thumbs down gesture in popular culture. ... Honoré Daumier (portrait by Nadar). ... Love Among the Ruins, by Edward Burne-Jones. ... Year 1868 (MDCCCLXVIII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian Calendar (or a leap year starting on Monday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... 1870 (MDCCCLXX) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Monday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... 1875 (MDCCCLXXV) was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... 1878 (MDCCCLXXVIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... Auguste Rodin - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ... Ernest Normand (1859-1923) was a notable painter in Victorian England. ... Paul Delvaux was a Belgian painter, famous for his surrealist paintings with female nudes staring at the horizon. ... Goya redirects here. ... Franz Stuck (1863 - 1928), German symbolist/expressionist painter, was born at Tettenweis, in Bavaria, and received his artistic training at the Munich Academy. ... Rinaldo and Armida gained Bouchers admission to the Académie royale François Boucher (1703 in Bordeaux - May 30, 1770) was a French painter, a proponent of Rococo taste, known for his idyllic and voluptuous paintings on classical themes, decorative allegories representing the arts or pastoral occupations, and several... Thomas Rowlandson (July 1756 - April 22, 1827) was an English caricaturist. ...

Literature

Ovid's Pygmalion has inspired several works of literature, including

• William Morris's poem Earthly Paradise
• Friedrich Schiller's poem Ideals
• Tommaso Landolfi's short story 'La moglie di Gogol' ('The Wife of Gogol')
• Richard Powers's novel Galatea 2.2
• Amanda Filipacchi's novel Vapor
• Carol Ann Duffy's poem Pygmalion's Bride
• Willy Russell's play Educating Rita
• Bernard Shaw's play Pygmalion
• "Pygmalion and the statue", a poem by John Dryden
• Mary Shelley's novel Frankenstein.

This page is about William Morris, the writer, designer and socialist. ... Friedrich Schiller “Schiller” redirects here. ... Tommaso Landolfi (born 1908 in Pico Farnese (Frosinone), Italy and died in 1979 in Rome) was an Italian author and translator. ... Richard Powers (born June 18, 1957) is a novelist whose works explore the effects of modern science and technology. ... Galatea 2. ... Amanda Filipacchi Amanda Filipacchi (born 1967 in Paris, France) is an American novelist based in New York City. ... Carol Ann Duffy Carol Ann Duffy (born December 23, 1955) is a British poet, playwright and freelance writer born in Glasgow, Scotland. ... For other uses, see William Russell. ... Educating Rita is a stage comedy by British playwright Willy Russell which premièred at The Warehouse, London, in 1980; and a film (1983) directed by Lewis Gilbert and starring Julie Walters, Michael Caine, and Maureen Lipman with a screenplay by Russell. ... George Bernard Shaw (26 July 1856–2 November 1950) was a world-renowned Irish author. ... Play cover, depicting Mrs Campbell as Eliza Pygmalion (1913) is a play by George Bernard Shaw based on Ovids tale of Pygmalion. ... John Dryden John Dryden (August 19 {August 9 O.S.}, 1631 - May 12 {May 1 O.S.}, 1700) was an influential English poet, literary critic, translator and playwright, who dominated the literary life of Restoration England to such a point that the period came to be known in literary circles... Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley (née Godwin) (30 August 1797 – 1 February 1851) was an English romantic/gothic novelist and the author of Frankenstein, or The Modern Prometheus. ... This article is about the 1818 novel. ...

Opera, ballet and music

The story of Pygmalion is the subject of Jean-Philippe Rameau's 1748 opera, Pigmalion. It was also the subject of Gaetano Donizetti's first opera, Il Pigmalione. Jean-Philippe Rameau, by Jacques André Joseph Aved, 1728 Jean-Philippe Rameau (French IPA: ) (September 25, 1683 - September 12, 1764) was one of the most important French composers and music theorists of the Baroque era. ... Pigmalion (Pygmalion) is an opera in the form of a one-act acte de ballet by Jean-Philippe Rameau first performed on 27 August 1748 at the Opéra in Paris. ... Gaetano Donizetti Domenico Gaetano Maria Donizetti (29 November 1797 – 8 April 1848) was a famous Italian opera composer. ... Young Donizetti in Bergamo Il Pigmalione (Pygmalion) is an opera in one act by Gaetano Donizetti to the libretto of Antonio Simeone Sografi. ...

The English progressive rock group Yes composed "Turn Of The Century" (1977); it tells the story of the sculptor Roan who, in the grief of his wife's death, "molds his passion into clay." The sculpture of his wife comes to life and they fall in love.

The great choreographer Marius Petipa and the composer Prince Nikita Trubetskoi created a 4 act ballet on the subject called Pygmalion, ou La Statue de Chypre. The ballet was revived in 1895 with the great ballerina Pierina Legnani. Maestro Marius Ivanovich Petipa, Maître de Ballet of the Imperial Theatres. ... Pierina Legnani (1863-1923) was an Italian ballerina responsible for the inclusion of 32 consecutive fouettés en tournant en pointe to the ballet Swan Lake. ...

The song "Trial By Fire" by [darkwave/gothic band] ThouShaltNot creates the idea of a modern day Pygmalion with lyrics such as "I sculpt your nature within, I am your Pygmalion" and "I dust away the plaster from off your breathing body.. You'll never be the same."

Stage plays

W. S. Gilbert's stage version, 1871

There have also been successful stage-plays based upon the work, such as W. S. Gilbert's Pygmalion and Galatea (1871). Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Sir William Schwenck Gilbert Sir William Schwenck Gilbert (November 18, 1836 – May 29, 1911) was an English dramatist, librettist and illustrator best known for the fourteen comic operas produced in collaboration with the composer Sir Arthur Sullivan. ... Sir William Schwenck Gilbert Sir William Schwenck Gilbert (November 18, 1836 – May 29, 1911) was an English dramatist, librettist and illustrator best known for the fourteen comic operas produced in collaboration with the composer Sir Arthur Sullivan. ... Pygmalion and Galatea, an Original Mythological Comedy is a blank verse play by W. S. Gilbert in three acts based on the Pygmalion story. ...

George Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion (1912, staged 1914) owes something to both the Greek Pygmalion and the legend of "King Cophetua and the beggar maid"; in which a King lacks interest in women, but one day falls in love with a young beggar-girl, later educating her to be his Queen. Shaw's comedy of manners in turn was the basis for the Broadway musical My Fair Lady (1956). George Bernard Shaw (26 July 1856–2 November 1950) was a world-renowned Irish author. ... Play cover, depicting Mrs Campbell as Eliza Pygmalion (1913) is a play by George Bernard Shaw based on Ovids tale of Pygmalion. ... King Cophetua and the Beggar Maid, 1884, by Edward Burne-Jones, currently hangs in the Tate Gallery, London. ... The comedy of manners satirizes the manners and affectations of a social class, often represented by stock characters, such as the miles gloriosus in ancient times, the fop and the rake during the Restoration, or an old person pretending to be young. ... Musical theater (or theatre) is a form of theater combining music, songs, dance, and spoken dialogue. ... My Fair Lady is a musical with a book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe, based on George Bernard Shaws Pygmalion. ...

Films

Notable 20th century feature films are My Fair Lady (1964, based on the stage play); Mighty Aphrodite by director Woody Allen; Weird Science directed by John Hughes; and the 1987 film Mannequin, a remake of the 1948 classic One Touch of Venus, as well as S1m0ne (featuring a computer-generated AI as the love object); And in a lighter tone, The Rocky Horror Picture Show spoofed the myth under the guise of sexual perversion while many films have dealt collaterally with this theme. One such film is Vertigo. Another more recent example is Lars and the Real Girl, depicting an introverted man, played by Ryan Gosling, who buys a plastic sex doll and falls in love with it, convinced that it is a real person. My Fair Lady is an Academy Award-winning 1964 film adaptation of the stage musical, My Fair Lady, based in turn on the play Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw. ... Also Nintendo emulator: 1964 (emulator). ... Mighty Aphrodite is a 1995 comedy film, written by, directed by and starring Woody Allen. ... Woody Allen (born Allen Stewart Konigsberg; December 1, 1935) is a three-time Academy Award-winning American film director, writer, actor, jazz musician, comedian and playwright. ... For other uses, see Weird Science. ... John Hughes (born February 18, 1950 in Lansing, Michigan) is a noted film director, producer and writer, responsible for some of the most successful comedy films of the 1980s and 1990s. ... For the earlier film, see Mannequin (1937 film). ... Year 1948 (MCMXLVIII) was a leap year starting on Thursday (link will display the 1948 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... One Touch of Venus was a Broadway musical written by Kurt Weill (music), Ogden Nash (lyrics), and S.J. Perelman and Nash (book); it was directed by Elia Kazan and featured choreography by Agnes De Mille. ... S1m0ne (also spelled Simone) is a 2002 science fiction drama film written, produced and directed by New Zealander Andrew Niccol, starring Al Pacino. ... The Rocky Horror Picture Show is a 1975 musical comedy film that parodies horror films. ... Vertigo (1958) is a psychological thriller directed by Alfred Hitchcock, and starring James Stewart, Kim Novak, and Barbara Bel Geddes. ... Lars and the Real Girl is an independent comedy film written by Nancy Oliver and directed by Craig Gillespie. ...

The popular horror genre in film has also had an interest in 'bringing to life' waxwork figures and show-room dummies (see: Waxworks: A Cultural Obsession by Michelle Bloom). Many horror films deviate considerably from the original story; for example, in The Stepford Wives (1975) the creators turn their living wives into inanimate (robotic, compliant) wives. Likewise, the legend serves as the inspiration for one of the Lineages, the Galatea, that appears in the White Wolf role-playing game Promethean: The Created. Movie poster for the original 1975 film. ... The logo of White Wolf Publishing, one of White Wolf, Inc. ... This article is about games in which one plays the role of a character. ...

Television

• The American TV series My Living Doll portrayed a female robot whose creators attempted to transform her into a "perfect woman".

• The Aerosmith music video for Hole in My Soul features a nerdy college student who tries to find the girl of his dreams by creating one in a lab only to have her leave him.

• The Japanese anime series Bubblegum Crisis: Tokyo 2040 includes a character named Galatea, an artificial life form designed to be the next evolution of the human race.

• In Justice League Unlimited, Emile Hamilton creates a clone of Supergirl, that he names Galatea.

• In Philippine TV series Love Spell presents: Barbie-cute features a teenage boy who falls in love with a mannequin who comes to life when lightning strikes it.

My Living Doll was an American comedy television series that aired for 26 episodes from September 27, 1964 to September 8, 1965. ... This article is about the band Aerosmith. ... Hole in My Soul is a song performed by American hard rock band Aerosmith. ... Bubblegum Crisis Tokyo 2040 is an alternate-universe spinoff to the original Bubblegum Crisis anime OVA series. ... Galatea may refer to: Galatea (mythology), a nymph in Greek mythology 74 Galatea, an asteroid Galatea a village in the North Island of New Zealand Galatea (Justice League Unlimited), an evil clone of the cartoon version of Supergirl Galatea (Raphael) or The Triumph of Galatea, a Renaissance fresco Raphael Galatea...

Notes

1. ^ See Pygmalion of Tyre.
2. ^ :"...a lovely boy was born;

   Paphos his name, who grown to manhood, wall'd

   The city Paphos, from the founder call'd." Oviod, Metamorphoses X.

3. ^ Pseudo-Apollodorus, Bibliotheke,iii.14.3.

Pygmalion (also known as Pumayyaton) was king of Tyre from 820 to 774 BC and a son of King Mattan I (829-821 BC). ...

Further reading

• Essaka Joshua. (2001). Pygmalion and Galatea: The History of a Narrative in English Literature. Ashgate.
• Kenneth Gross. (1992). The Dream of the Moving Statue. Cornell University Press. (A wide-ranging survey of 'living statues' in literature and the arts).
• Jack Burnham. Beyond Modern Sculpture (1982). Allan Lane. (A history of 'living statues' and the fascination with automata - see the introductory chapter: "Sculpture and Automata").
• Ernst Buschor. Vom Sinn der griechischen Standbilder (1942). (Clear discussion of attitudes to sculptural images in classical times).
• Gail Marshall. (1998). Actresses on the Victorian Stage: Feminine Performance and the Galatea Myth. Cambridge University Press.
• Alexandra K. Wettlaufer. (2001). Pen Vs. Paintbrush: Girodet, Balzac, and the Myth of Pygmalion in Post-Revolutionary France. Palgrave Macmillan.
• Danahay, Martin A. (1994) "Mirrors of Masculine Desire: Narcissus and Pygmalion in Victorian Representation". Victorian Poetry, No. 32, 1994: pages 35-53.
• Edward A. Shanken. (2005) “Hot 2 Bot: Pygmalion’s Lust, the Maharal’s Fear, and the Cyborg Future of Art,” Technoetic Arts 3:1: 43-55.
• (2005). Almost Human: Puppets, Dolls and Robots in Contemporary Art, Hunterdon Museum of Art, Clinton, NJ. (Catalogue for a group exhibition Mar 20 - Jun 12 2005)

The term English literature refers to literature written in the English language, including literature composed in English by writers not necessarily from England; Joseph Conrad was Polish, Robert Burns was Scottish, James Joyce was Irish, Dylan Thomas was Welsh, Edgar Allan Poe was American, Salman Rushdie is Indian, V.S...

See also

• Narcissus
• Agalmatophilia
• Pinocchio

This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Agalmatophilia (from the Greek agalma statue, and philia friendship, affinity) is the sexual attraction to a statue, doll, mannequin or other similar figurative object. ... For other uses, see Pinocchio (disambiguation). ...

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Pygmalion and Galatea

• English-translation text of Ovid's poem.
• Latin original, lines 243-297, at http://thelatinlibrary.com
• Shakespeare reference