Mythos

‘Mythos’ is a project by Baptiste Lignel (FR) that examines the representation of gender-based violence in the history of Western art. Through photography, the project focuses on paintings and sculptures from the 15th to the 18th centuries depicting scenes of sexual violence from Greco-Roman mythology, in particular the narratives from Ovid’s ‘Metamorphoses’. Many of these works are celebrated masterpieces in museum collections, yet the stories they portray raise pressing questions today about power, violence, and the ways these images have been presented and interpreted over the centuries. The publication is complemented by essays from art historians and museum professionals.