Danaë (mother of Perseus by Zeus,) or, a 21st century Olympia, (allusions to Manet and Cezanne)

A study in greys, oil on linen canvas, 24 x 18″, approx date 2017-18

I originally intended to work colour into this grisaille underpainting but it works well just like this. It’s based on an image of the Japanese model / performance artist, Hitomi Tanaka.

This is a very ancient subject for artists. Rembrandt did a nice version. But there are hundreds of versions out there. Mine, I believe, brings it bang up to date, and shows that it is relevant even now.