In this artwork, how is the Identity of figures discussed?
A leading theory on the women's identities in the painting was put forth by Phillipp Fehl in 1957, postulating that the women are Nymphs, minor ancient Greek goddesses, and not human. He stipulates that the nymphs have been lured out of the woods toward the music being created by the men in the pastoral. Fehl also maintains that these nymph women are invisible to the men in the painting but are visible to us, the viewer. Also according to Fehl, the closest poetic work that matches this painting is William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream (obviously, entirely unknown to Titian, as it was written much later) . He uses this passage from A Midsummer Night's Dream to support his theory of the nymphs being invisible to human eyes:"But who comes here? I am invisible,
And I will overhear their conference."The use of nymphs from Ancient Greek mythology is common for Italian Renaissance paintings due to the deep appreciation for the antiquity of Greek and Rome, a common aspect of Renaissance Humanism.Holberton agrees they are nymphs from the woods enticed by the beauty of the music, but thinks they are visible to the men.Elhanian Motzkin identifies the nude female figure on the left as Inspiration and the right to be Euterpe, the Greek muse of music. In addition to identifying the female figures, Motzkin also put forth the identity of the men. Building off of the original theories of Phillipp Fehl, Motzkin identifies the men as Apollo and Paris, with Apollo teaching Paris how to play the lute. He also posits that the formerly unidentified herdsman in the far right background is Paris' adoptive father. The latter raised him after being abandoned by his parents Priam and Hecuba.There are multiple uncertain issues in this painting, the most prominent being the female figure's inclusion on the left pouring water out of a clear jug into a well. Ross Kilpatrick theorized that while the identity of the woman on the left is unknown, the artist's inspiration may derive from Horace's Epistles, which places Horace in the Bandusian Spring's basin, a mystical body of water that also shows up in Propertius's work. The concept of a "mystical spring" presents itself in Epistles, referencing the Greek Muse Calliope. The town of the Sabine Villa included in Horace's Epistles 2.2 has a freshwater spring from which Calliope gathers water. In Horace's poem, the town itself has a fountain with the inscription: "Bandusian Spring, more gleaming than glass." Kirkpatrick suggests that this could be the inspiration for the inclusion of the figure pouring water.
Hecuba A Midsummer Night's Dream Renaissance Titian Horace Priam Renaissance Humanism work Propertius Calliope Paris Apollo Epistles William Shakespeare Nymph Euterpe