A Woman borne off by a Sea God (?)
- Artist: Agostino Carracci
- Date: about 1599
- Medium: charcoal and white chalk on paper
- Museum: The National Gallery
- Collection record: The National Gallery website
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About this artwork
This is "A Woman borne off by a Sea God (?)". It's painted in the Italian north, circa 1599. You can see that it's a working drawing or cartoon for part of a frescoed ceiling, probably from the Palazzo Farnese in Rome.
The scene depicts a woman being carried away by a sea god, surrounded by winged infants and other marine divinities. Some of these figures ride on dolphins, adding to the sense of movement and energy in the composition. On the right, Triton blows a conch shell horn, while on the left, a Nereid sits on a sea creature.
In the centre of the scene, Cupid aims an arrow at the couple, suggesting that their love is about to be disrupted. However, it's worth noting that the woman in this drawing doesn't seem reluctant to be carried away by the sea god.
This cartoon would have been used as a guide for the fresco above, and the design was likely transferred onto the ceiling using small holes pricked into the paper, with coloured chalk shaken over them. The process of creating these cartons was quite complex, involving multiple stages of design and execution.
See it in person
A Woman borne off by a Sea God (?) hangs in The National Gallery on Trafalgar Square, London — free to enter. Point your phone at any artwork there and audioguide.london plays a free audio guide in six languages — no app download needed.
