Pygmalion and Galatea

Jean-Léon Gérôme (French, 1824-1904): Pygmalion and Galatea c.1890 (Oil on canvas, Met) - Gérôme painted and sculpted variations on the theme of Pygmalion and Galatea, as recounted in Ovid’s Metamorphoses. Galatea was brought to life by the goddess Venus, in fulfillment of Pygmalion’s wish for a wife as beautiful as the sculpture he created. This is one of three known versions that are closely related to a polychrome marble sculpture fashioned by Gérôme…