Artistic Analysis Essay

Christian Woo

Thaddeus Lisowski

Latin 4 Honors

5/15/24

Ovid Project Artistic Analysis Essay: The Death of Orpheus

 

Emile Bin and Henri Leopold Levy both created works of art titled “The Death of Orpheus”. That being said, their depictions are starkly different, and each focuses on highlighting different aspects of Ovid’s famous poem.

Bin’s painting depicts the moments right before Orpheus’s death, as the Maenads rush at him. In the Metamorphoses, this is a fast paced scene, and Bin dives headlong into this narrative. He uses a bright color palette to immediately draw attention, and purposefully paints a simple background to focus the viewer’s gaze onto the scene in front of them. The majority of the painting’s detail is found within the anatomy of the humans, and Bin uses this to further augment this climactic moment. Attention is drawn to the outstretched hand of Orpheus as well as the deadly farm tools held by the Maenads, both of which are explicitly mentioned by Ovid. Emotions such as fury, determination, and sadistic joy are clearly displayed on the Maenad’s faces. Orpheus however, has a rather stoic look. His gaze is transfixed on the sky above him, leading us to believe he seeks mercy not from the Maenads, but perhaps the aid of a deity from above. Overall, Bin uses many techniques to create a riveting, action packed scene that provokes the user, leaving them with as much adrenaline as pity.

Levy, on the other hand, chooses to focus on a calmer, more sorrowful moment. Focusing on the aftermath of his death, Levy’s work shows the mangled corpse of Orpheus, laying still by the riverbank. Contrary to Bin’s bright and almost cheerful colors, Levy chooses to use a much darker palette. His use of lighter shades is very sparing, intentionally drawing the viewer to Orpheus’s severed head. While Bin’s painting was filled with bodies, Levy’s features only Orpheus. This emptiness forces the user to zoom out to the dark surroundings, evoking feelings of regret and loss. Furthermore, Levy chooses to focus on the environment surrounding Orpheus, as opposed to Bin’s focus on anatomy. Once again, his use of colors aptly depicts the state of mourning the environment is in. Accurate to Ovid’s description, the birds gather around the slain poet, and the trees and even rocks seem to be in a state of grief. The corpse itself lies in tatters, its detached hand still clenching his lyre. But among the tapestry of grief, Levy provides us with a small piece of solace. The intentionally bright shades surrounding Orpheus’s head also hint at the poem’s conclusion. As the life breath of the poet escapes from his body into the surrounding air, his soul is finally united with Eurydice in the Underworld.

While the paintings have extremely different intentions and priorities, both are successfully able to capture the emotions within the story. The Death of Orpheus has many themes, ranging from desire to grief, and then to hope. Bin and Levy chose opposing emotions to display in their works, but placed side by side, the paintings provide an almost encompassing depiction of Ovid’s tale.