This picture illustrates the ancient Greek myth of Hero and Leander. Hero, a priestess of Aphrodite, lived in Sestos on the European side of the Hellespont strait. She was in love with Leander, who lived on the Asian side. She lit a lantern every night to guide him over the water to her. One night, when the lamp blew out and Leander drowned, Hero threw herself from the tower to her death in grief.
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| ▲ Joseph Mallord William Turner, "The Parting of Hero and Leander - from the Greek of Musaeus" Before 1837, Oil on canvas, 146 x 236 cm, The National Gallery, London, Turner Bequest, 1856, NG 521, Photo by SayArt Sims green. |
Winged Cupid holds up a lamp and a torch on the terrace in the centre. Hymen, the goddess of marriage, stands beside him. The couple is parting for the final time in the shadow at the water's edge below the terrace. Turner was inspired by Claude's classically balanced compositions, emotive use of colour and atmospheric effects.
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