Orpheus in Art

Written by Teresita Blanco (The Artsy Sister)

I wanted to show you some amassing art featuring Orpheus. He is a Greek poet. He is said to have been the first. It is debatable among Greek Historians if he was real or not.

According to Aristotle, Orpheus did exist, but he lived in a far away region. He was mythologized due to his talent.

 He was said to have given the Greeks civilization. He also traveled with Jason and the Argonauts. In the artworld, they are more interesting in painting the final days of his life. Orpheus has a little wife named Eurydice.

She was bit by a snake. He went to the underworld to beg for her life. Hades made a deal with the bard. He could take his wife, but he was not allowed to look back on his way out of the underworld. Orpheus looked back, so he lost his wife again.

However, this time she died because of him. While mourning, he ran into a bunch of drunk women, worshipers of Bacchus. Since he refused to sleep with them, the drunken women dismembered him. His severed head and lire floated down the river.

A nymph gave him a burial. From his grave, there rose the first nightingale. It is said that Zeus also turned his harp into a constellation. I hope you find amusing the arts of Orpheus made by various artists. You can hear a blog on this subject in my Artsy Sister Youtube channel.