Prometheus Bound | Narodna galerija

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Prometheus, the son of the Titan Iapetus, stole fire from the gods and gave it to mankind. With this he made men’s life easier. Zeus feared that they would become presumptuous – so he sent them plagues and punished Prometheus by having him chained to a remote crag in the Caucasus. Every day Zeus’ eagle tore out his liver, which then grew again. Prometheus was saved by Hercules.

The painting shows Prometheus as the eagle pecks out his liver. His hand, with the fingers spread wide, reflects his horror and suffering. Stylistically this powerful figure is fairly typical for Luca Giordano. There are many similarities with the Saint Michael in the Viennese Kunsthistorisches Museum (No. 350), which would indicate that the two pictures were painted at about the same time. The painting in Vienna once bore the inscription 1666, but this is no longer legible. It is likely that it, like our Prometheus, was painted a year or so earlier.

Artist Luca Giordano

Year of creation (c. 1666)

Technique oil, canvas

Dimensions 124 x 99 cm

Inventory number NG S 2017, National Gallery of Slovenia, Ljubljana

Collection 1600–1700

Provenance: Globočnik, Ljubljana; the painting was bought in 1946 by a private collector who sold it to the Narodna galerija in 1984. On the back of the canvas is an inscription in Latin and Gothic script: pinx: / Lucas Giordano geb. 1632 / + 1705 zu Neapel. Schüler seines Vaters / Antonio, des G. Ribera u. P. Berettini.
Exhibition: 1993, Ljubljana, No. 30.
Lit.: Zeri and Rozman 1993, p. 148, Cat. No. 30, Fig. No. 29.