Orpheus in the Underworld

Through an exploration of volume conveyed by broad strokes of brown wash and calligraphic pen lines, André-Jean Le Brun depicts a pivotal moment in the tragic story of Orpheus, the musician and poet who journeyed to the netherworld in order to resurrect his late wife Eurydice. Seated on a raised, strongly-lit throne before a banner of cloth (loosely suggested by aqueous tidelines), Hades and his consort Persephone, rulers of the underworld, listen to Orpheus play the violin as he pleads for the return of Eurydice. Their court of “shades” look on from the shadowy foreground at left, shrouded in heavily articulated drapery. The result is a dramatic contrast between the enthroned monarchs and the cloaked audience. Le Brun worked and reworked the figure of Orpheus, replacing his traditional lyre with a violin, and making changes that eventually necessitated an irregularly shaped patch with a redrawn version of the figure.