Ovid: Narcissus - “Love, Myths and Other Stories” – XXXII
Here we see the Ovidian Narcissus singing of his pain to his reflected image in the mirror of water (Metamorphoses 3, 339-510}: the young man, a figure who seems to take shape from the poet's verses, is portrayed semi-reclining on a rock, a position that enables him to draw close to the pool of water and see the reflection of his face. On the left side of the scene the artist painted a Cupid with a reverse torch, symbol the tragic conclusion of Narcissus’ life.
The poet tells that there was a clear pool with silvery bright water, to which no shepherds ever came, or she-goats feeding on the mountainside, or any other cattle ort wild animals. Here the youth Narcissus, worn by the chase and the heat, lies down, attracted thither by the appearance of the place and by the spring.
“dumque sitim sedare cupit, sitis altera crevit,
dumque bibit, visae correptus imagine formae
spem sine corpore amat, corpus putat esse, quod umbra est.
Adstupet ipse sibi vultuque inmotus eodem
haeret ut e Pario formatum marmore signum.
Spectat humi positus geminum, sua lumina, sidus
et dignos Baccho, dignos et Apolline crines
inpubesque genas et eburnea colla decusque
oris et in niveo mixtum candore ruborem
cunctaque miratur, quibus est mirabilis ipse.”
“While he seeks to slake his thirst another thirst springs up, and while he drinks he is smitten by the sight of the beautiful form he sees. He loves an unsubstantial hope and thinks that substance which is only shadow. He looks in speechless wonder at himself and hangs there motionless in the same expression, like a statue carved from Parian marble. Prone on the ground, he gazes at his eyes, twin stars, and his locks, worthy of Bacchus, worthy of Apollo ; on his smooth cheeks, his ivory neck, the glorious beauty of his face, the blush mingled with snowy white: all things, in short, he admires for which he is himself admired.”
[met. 3, 415 – 424]
After looking at himself for along time. Narcissus becomes aware that he and his beloved image are one and the same and "he rent his garment from the upper edge" (met. 3. 480], as a prelude to his final obsession dictated by the impossibility of reaching the object of his passion.
“Quae simul adspexit liquefacta rursus in unda,
non tulit ulterius, sed, ut intabescere flavae
igne levi cerae matutinaeque pruinae
sole tepente solent, sic attenuatus amore
liquitur et tecto paulatim carpitur igni”
“as the yellow wax melts before a gentle heat, as hoar frost melts before the warm morning sun, so does he, wasted with love, pine away, and is slowly consumed by its hidden fire”
[met. 3, 486 – 490]
The myth enjoyed overwhelming success in pictorial production from the Neronian age all the way through to the 15th century, although the favored image was that of the young man sitting down and looking at his image in a mirror [or basin].
Translation: Frank Justus Miller, “Ovid - Metamorphoses”
Fresco 43 cm x 40 cm
AD 60 - 79 (4th style)
From Pompeii, “Villa di Diomede”
Naples, “Museo Archeologico Nazionale”
Exhibition: “Ovidio: Loves, Myths & Other Stories”
Scuderie del Quirinale, Rome
Ovid: Narcissus - “Love, Myths and Other Stories” – XXXII
Here we see the Ovidian Narcissus singing of his pain to his reflected image in the mirror of water (Metamorphoses 3, 339-510}: the young man, a figure who seems to take shape from the poet's verses, is portrayed semi-reclining on a rock, a position that enables him to draw close to the pool of water and see the reflection of his face. On the left side of the scene the artist painted a Cupid with a reverse torch, symbol the tragic conclusion of Narcissus’ life.
The poet tells that there was a clear pool with silvery bright water, to which no shepherds ever came, or she-goats feeding on the mountainside, or any other cattle ort wild animals. Here the youth Narcissus, worn by the chase and the heat, lies down, attracted thither by the appearance of the place and by the spring.
“dumque sitim sedare cupit, sitis altera crevit,
dumque bibit, visae correptus imagine formae
spem sine corpore amat, corpus putat esse, quod umbra est.
Adstupet ipse sibi vultuque inmotus eodem
haeret ut e Pario formatum marmore signum.
Spectat humi positus geminum, sua lumina, sidus
et dignos Baccho, dignos et Apolline crines
inpubesque genas et eburnea colla decusque
oris et in niveo mixtum candore ruborem
cunctaque miratur, quibus est mirabilis ipse.”
“While he seeks to slake his thirst another thirst springs up, and while he drinks he is smitten by the sight of the beautiful form he sees. He loves an unsubstantial hope and thinks that substance which is only shadow. He looks in speechless wonder at himself and hangs there motionless in the same expression, like a statue carved from Parian marble. Prone on the ground, he gazes at his eyes, twin stars, and his locks, worthy of Bacchus, worthy of Apollo ; on his smooth cheeks, his ivory neck, the glorious beauty of his face, the blush mingled with snowy white: all things, in short, he admires for which he is himself admired.”
[met. 3, 415 – 424]
After looking at himself for along time. Narcissus becomes aware that he and his beloved image are one and the same and "he rent his garment from the upper edge" (met. 3. 480], as a prelude to his final obsession dictated by the impossibility of reaching the object of his passion.
“Quae simul adspexit liquefacta rursus in unda,
non tulit ulterius, sed, ut intabescere flavae
igne levi cerae matutinaeque pruinae
sole tepente solent, sic attenuatus amore
liquitur et tecto paulatim carpitur igni”
“as the yellow wax melts before a gentle heat, as hoar frost melts before the warm morning sun, so does he, wasted with love, pine away, and is slowly consumed by its hidden fire”
[met. 3, 486 – 490]
The myth enjoyed overwhelming success in pictorial production from the Neronian age all the way through to the 15th century, although the favored image was that of the young man sitting down and looking at his image in a mirror [or basin].
Translation: Frank Justus Miller, “Ovid - Metamorphoses”
Fresco 43 cm x 40 cm
AD 60 - 79 (4th style)
From Pompeii, “Villa di Diomede”
Naples, “Museo Archeologico Nazionale”
Exhibition: “Ovidio: Loves, Myths & Other Stories”
Scuderie del Quirinale, Rome