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Nicolas Poussin The Birth of Venus orThe Triumph of Neptune

1635 or 1636Oil on canvas, 97.2 x 108 cmPhiladelphia Museum of Art

במוזיאון לאמנות בפילדלפיה מוצגת אחת מיצירות המופת

של ניקולא פוסן שצויירה קרוב לודאי עבור ארמונו של

רישלייה בשנות השלושים של . 17המאה ה-

חרף העובדה שלתמונה זו

ניתנה

הכותרת 'לידתה של ונוס',

חוקרי אמנות חלוקים

בדעותיהם באשר לנושאה של

היצירה:

האם זוהי לידתה של ונוס?

תהלוכת הניצחון של ונוס?

תהלוכת הניצחון של נפטון ?

או שמא תהלוכת הניצחון של

גלטיאה?

משמאל ניבטת אלינו בלא כל עוררין, דמותו של נפטון )פוסידון היווני( - אל הים, הרוכב לעבר החוף על גלי הים הרגוע , במרכבת צדף רתומה לארבעה היפוקמפי

)דמויות מיתולוגיות שפלג גופן הקדמי סוס, והאחורי דג (. בידו הימנית קלשון בעל שלוש שינים באמצעותו הוא שולט בגלי הים.

Poseidon rides across the sea in a chariot drawn by two Hippokampoi (fish-tailed horses). He holds a trident in his hand .

Roman Mosaic, C3rd century ADSousse Museum, Tunisia

Orphic Hymn 17 to Poseidon (trans. Taylor) )Greek hymns C3rd B.C. to 2nd A.D: (.

" Hear, Poseidon, ruler of the sea profound, whose

liquid grasp begirds the solid ground; who, at the

bottom of the stormy main, dark and deep-

bosomed holdest they watery reign. Thy awful

hand the brazen trident bears, and sea's utmost

bound thy will reveres. Thee I invoke, whose

steeds the foam divide, from whose dark locks

the briny waters glide; shoe voice, loud sounding

through the roaring deep, drives all its billows in a

raging heap; when fiercely riding through the

boiling sea, thy hoarse command the trembling

waves obey. Earth-shaking, dark-haired God, the

liquid plains, the third division, fate to thee

ordains. 'Tis thine, cerulean daimon, to survey,

well-pleased, the monsters of the ocean play.

Confirm earth's basis, and with prosperous gales

waft ships along, and swell the spacious sails; add

gentle peace, and fair-haired health beside, and

pour abundance in a blameless tide".

(, תרגום מרומית שלמה דיקמן283אובידיוס/ מטמורפוזות, ספר ראשון "יך אלוהים בקלשון, זעזע והרעיד את הארץ" )

לא כן המצב לגבי הדמות הנשית שלצד נפטון , היושבת על גבי צדף רתום לדולפינים ומעליה מתבדר ברוח צעיפה האדום המשמש כמפרש. פוסן לא טרח לאפיין אותה באטריבוט ברור וחד משמעי ומכאן המחלוקות לגבי שמה של התמונה.

משני עבריה שתי דמויות נשיות המסייעות לה להניף את צעיפה- מפרשה , ושני דמויות גבריות התוקעות בצדפים ולראשם עטרות של אצות. אלה ילדיו של אל הים: הנראידות )נימפות הים( והטריטונים )יצורים מיתולוגיים שפלג גופם העליון אנושי והתחתון דג(

Aelian, On Animals 14. 28 (trans. Scholfield) (Greek natural history C2nd A.D.) " When Poseidon drove his chariot over the waves, alltogether great fishes as well as dolphins and Tritones too, sprang up from their

deep haunts and gambolled and danced around the chariot, only to be left utterly and far behind by the speed of his horses".

Triton & Nereid ,2nd century , limestone ,

Carnavalet Museum

על גבי סלע לחופו של הים יושבת נימפה כשגבה אלינו. לרגליה כד הפוך שופע מים- סמל להיותה נימפת נהר הנשפך לים.

אובידיוס/ מטמורפוזות

, תרגום מרומית שלמה דיקמן330-342ספר ראשון

נחו ימים מזעפם כי אדון-עלי-מים הניח

את קלשונו הנורא- יצווה לגלים וישקטו.

הוא גם לטריטון יקרא ועלה בתכלתו מן המים,

השבלולים מכסים את שכמו וכתפיו כאדרת.

נפטון, אדון הצולה, יצוונו לתקוע בצדף :

אות הוא לקץ הסופה. מסולסל השופר ועקום הוא,

כחלזון יתפתל בסלילים וירחב בקצהו.

אם בלב-ים יתקע בו, תרעם תרועתו מכל עבר,

מן המזרח הרחוק עד מבוא החמה תשמע,

אז יגישנו אל פיו, רסיסי הזקן הרטיבוהו,

צו אדוניו הוא מכריז לימים בתקיעה ממושכת,

וישמעו משברים רחוקים למצוות התוקע,

גל לנחשול ימסרנה ביעף וישוכו המים.

מעל הצעיף-מפרש המתבדר ברוח מעופפים אמורטים ) אלי אהבה הנראים כתינוקות מכונפים( הזורים לעברה ורדים או יורים את חיצי האהבה.

.אחד מהם אוחז לפיד בוער, זהו הימן או הימנאוס, האחראי לברית הנישואין

The Anacreontea, Fragment 35 (trans. Campbell, Vol. Greek Lyric II) (Greek lyric B.C.): " The soft rose. It is the breath of the gods and the joy of mortals, the glory of the Kharites )Graces( in spring-time, the delight of the

Erotes )Loves( with their rich garlands and of Aphrodite; it is a subject for poetry and the graceful plant of the Mousai".

The Anacreontea, Fragment 44: " Let us mix the Erotes' rose with Dionysos: let us fasten on our brows the rose with its lovely petals and drink, laughing gently. Rose,

finest of flowers, rose, darling of spring, rose, delight of the gods also, rose with which Kythere's [Aphrodite's] son [Eros] garlands his lovely curls when he dances with the Kharites".

HYMENAIOS )Hymen or

Hymenaeus( was the god of

weddings, or more specifically of

the wedding hymn which was

sung by the train of the bride as

she was led to the house of the

groom. Hymenaios was numbered

amongst the Erotes, the youthful

gods of love.

As one of the gods of song, he

was usually described as a son of

Apollon and a Muse.

Hymenaios appears in Greek art

as a winged child carrying a bridal

torch in his hand

Hymenaios. Baths of Neptune, Ostia Antica, Latium, Italy.

על גבי העננים מרכבה רתומה ליונים ובה אמור והימן. )זוהי מרכבתה של אלת האהבה –ונוס הרתומה תמיד ליונים או

לברבורים, שתי הציפורים המקודשות לה(

Apuleius, The Golden Ass 6. 6 ff (trans. Walsh) )Roman novel C2nd A.D: (.

" Venus [Aphrodite] . . . ordered her carriage to be

prepared; Vulcanus [Hephaistos] had lovingly applied the finishing touches to it with elaborate workmanship, and had given it to her as a wedding-present before her initiation into marriage. The thinning motion of his file had made the metal gleam; the coach's value was measured by the gold it had lost. Four white doves emerged from the large herd stabled close to their mistress's chamber. As they strutted gaily forward, turning their dappled necks from side to side. They submitted to the jewelled yoke. They took their mistress aboard and delightedly mounted upwards. Sparrows sported with the combined din of their chatter as they escorted the carriage of the goddess, and the other birds, habitually sweet songsters, announced the goddess’s approach with the pleasurable sound of their honeyed tunes. The clouds parted, and Caelus [Ouranos, Heaven] admitted his daughter; the topmost region delightedly welcomed the goddess, and the tuneful retinue of mighty Venus had no fear of

encounter with eagles or of plundering hawks".

RAFFAELLO Sanzio, Venus on the Chariot Pulled by Doves, 1517-18, Fresco, Villa Farnesina, Rome

לידתה של אפרודיטה )ונוס הרומית( כפי שעולה מן הכתובים ונראה ביצירות מן העת העתיקה:

Hesiod, Theogony 176 ff (trans. Evelyn-White) (Greek epic C8th or 7th B.C.):

" Ouranos )the Sky( came, bringing on night and longing for love, and he lay about Gaia )the Earth( spreading himself full upon her. Then the son [Kronos] from his ambush stretched forth his left hand and in his right took the great long sickle with jagged teeth, and swiftly lopped off his own father's members and cast them away to fall behind him . . . and so soon as he had cut off the members with flint and cast them from the land into the surging sea, they were swept away over the main a long time: and a white foam spread around them from the immortal flesh, and in it there grew a maiden. First she drew near holy Kythera, and from there, afterwards, she came to sea-girt Kypros, and came forth an awful and lovely goddess, and grass grew up about her beneath her shapely feet. Her gods and men call Aphrodite, and Aphrogeneia )the foam-born( because she grew amid the foam, and well-crowned )eustephanos( Kythereia because she reached Kythera, and Kyprogenes because she was born in billowy Kypros, and Philommedes )Genital-Loving( because sprang from the members. And with her went Eros )Love(, and comely Himeros )Desire( followed her at her birth at the first and as she went into the assembly of the gods. This honour she has from the beginning, and this is the portion allotted to her amongst men and undying gods,--the whisperings of maidens and smiles and deceits with sweet delight and love and

graciousness".

The Birh of VenusVenus (Aphrodite) sails across the sea, reclining naked in the hollow of a cockle shell, her shawl billowing out behind her in the breeze. A Nereid Nymph rides beside her on the back of a leaping dolphin and the winged love-god Cupid (Eros) crouches by the foot of her shellFresco, Pompeii, House of Venus , C1st AD Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Napoli

The birth of AphroditeAphrodite is carried ashore in a cockle shell by a pair of Ikhthyokentauroi (fish-tailed centaurs) following her sea birth. She is attended by two Erotes (winged love gods), namely Eros and Himeros, who fly overhead with a billowing shawl. The goddess herself is haloed and gazes at her own reflection in a hand-held mirror .

Mosaic from PhillipopolisPeriod: Imperial RomanSuweida Regional Museum, Suweida, Syria

The Anacreontea, Fragment 57

)trans. Campbell, Vol. Greek Lyric II) (C5th B.C: (.

[" Aphrodite ]roaming over the waves like sea-lettuce, moving her

soft-skinned body in her voyage over the white calm sea, she pulls

the breakers along her path. Above her rosy breast and below her

soft neck a great wave divides her skin. In the midst of the furrow,

like a lily wound among violets, Kypris shines out from the clam

sea. Over the silver on dancing dolphins ride guileful Eros and

laughing Himeros (Desire), and the chorus of bow-backed fish

plunging in the waves sports with Paphia where she swims".

Homeric Hymn 6 to Aphrodite

) trans. Evelyn-White) (Greek epic C7th to 4th B.C: (.

" To Sea-set Kypros the moist breath of the

western wind )Zephryos( wafted her

[Aphrodite] over the waves of the loud-

moaning sea in soft foam, and there the

gold-filleted Horai )Seasons( welcomed her

joyously. They clothed her with heavenly

garments: on her head they put a fine,

well-wrought crown of gold, and in her

pierced ears they hung ornaments of

orichalc and precious gold, and adorned

her with golden necklaces over her soft

neck and snow-white breasts, jewels which

the gold-filleted Horai wear themselves

whenever they go to their father's house to

join the lovely dances of the gods. And

when they had fully decked her, they

brought her to the gods, who welcomed her

when they saw her, giving her their hands.

Each one of them prayed that he might

lead her home to be his wedded wife, so

greatly were they amazed at the beauty of

violet-crowned Kythereia".

The Birth of AphroditeRuins of Bulla Regia (in situ), Tunisia, Period: Imperial RomanThe goddess Aphrodite is carried ashore by a pair of Ikhthyokentauroi (fish-tailed sea centaurs), following her sea birth. The sea-gods are named Aphros and Bythos in other mosaics. Aphrodite is crowned by a pair of Erotes (winged love gods) who flit above her head .

HIMEROS )or Himerus( was the god of sexual desire, one of the young Erotes )winged Love-Gods(. When the goddess Aphrodite first emerged new-born from the sea-foam's she was greeted by the twin loves Eros and Himeros. Some say Aphrodite was born pregnant with the twins, and birthed them with her birth. The pair were her constant companions, agents of her divine power.

THE BIRTH OF APHRODITE Aphrodite stands naked on a cockle shell in the sea following her birth, attended by the twin winged love gods Eros and Himeros. Other Erotes fish in the sea .Imperial Roman, Bardo Museum, Tunis, Tunisia

Aphrodite is carried across the sea on a cockle shell by a pair of Ikhthyokentauroi (fish tailed sea centaurs) following her marine birth .She is crowned with pearls and holds a mirror. On each side Tritones herald her birth with the blow of conch-shell trumpets .Roman Mosaic, Bardo Museum, Tunis, Tunisia

Birth of Aphrodite Aphrodite sails across the main following her sea birth in a cockle shell drawn by two Ikhthyokentauroi (fish-tailed centaurs). A pair of baby love-gods, Eros and Himeros, sommersault above her head. The Ikhthyokentauroi are depicted with the upper bodies of men, the lower forequarters of horses, and the tails of fish. They are crowned with a set of crab-claw horns. The two are labelled Aphros (Sea Foam) and Bythos (Sea Depths) in Greek.Roman Mosaic, C1st - C2nd AD, Zeguma ,Gaziantep Museum, Turkey

TRITON-DRAWN COCKLE-SHELL OF APHRODITE

Apuleius, The Golden Ass 4. 31 ff (trans. Walsh) (Roman novel C2nd A.D.) :

" Then she [Venus, Aphrodite] made for the nearest shore lapped

by the waves. With rosy feet she mounted the surface of the

rippling waters, and lo and behold, the bright surface of the sea-

depths was becalmed. At her first intimation, her retinue in the

deep performed her wishes [the various sea-gods and goddesses

join her company] . . . Bands of Tritoni sported here and there on

the waters, one softly blowing on his echoing shell, another fending

off with silk parasol the heat of the hostile sun, a third holding a

mirror before his mistress's face, while others, yoked in pairs to her

chariot, swam below. This was the host of Venus' companions as

she made for the Oceanus".

POUSSIN, NicolasVenus Presenting Arms to Aeneas1639Musée des Beaux-Arts, Rouen

לאחר בחינת סיפורי המיתולוגיה ופסיפסים מן העת העתיקה לצד יצירתו של רפאל נראה שהעלינו

די פרטים המזהים את ה'דמות החידתית' עם ונוס

אלת האהבה: לידתה של ונוס או נצחונה. שתי

כותרות שמחליפות זו את 18זו באמנות במאה ה-

בעיקר.כדי לאשש את המסקנה שפוסן אכן התכוון לונוס

נתבונן בתמונה אחרת שלו: 'ונוס מביאה

לאייניאס, )בנה בן-התמותה, נסיך טרויה(

את כלי נשקו'. ונוס מלווה באותם שלושה

אמורטים: אמור, הימן והימרוס . מעל כתפיה

מתבדר צעיפה ברוחומאחוריה הברבור.

ואם זאת ,אין ספק, שפוסן הכיר את הפרסקו של רפאל בוילה פרנסינה, המתאר את ניצחון גלטיאה והוא שאל ממנו את הקומפוזיציה ומספר דמויות. מכאן גם הטיעון שפוסן צייר למעשה אותו נושא,

דהיינו ניצחונה של גלטיאה.Philostratus the Elder, Imagines 2. 18 (trans. Fairbanks) (Greek rhetorician C3rd A.D.):

]"Ostensibly a description of an ancient Greek painting at Neapolis )Naples([:Kyklops )Cyclops( . . . Polyphemos son of Poseidon, the fiercest of them [the Kyklopes], lives here; he has a single eyebrow extending above his single eye and a broad nose astride his upper lip, and he feeds upon men after the manner of savage lions. But at the present time he abstains from such food that he may not appear gluttonous or disagreeable; for he loves Galateia, who is sporting here on the sea, and he watches her from the mountain-side. And though his shepherd’s pipe is still under his arm and silent, yet he has a pastoral song to sing that tells how white she is and skittish and sweeter than unripe grapes, and how he is raising for Galateia fawns and bear-cubs. All this he sings beneath an evergreen oak, heeding not where his flocks are feeding nor their number nor even, any longer, where the earth is. He is painted a creature of the mountains, fearful to look at, tossing his hair, which stands erect and is as dense as the foliage of a pine tree, showing a set of jagged teeth in his voracious jaw, shaggy all over--breast and belly and limbs even to the nails. He thinks, because he is in love, that his glance is gentle, but it is wild and stealthy still, like that of wild beasts subdued under the force of necessity.

The nymphe sports on the peaceful sea, driving a team of four dolphins yoked together and working in harmony; and maiden-daughters of Triton, Galateia's servants, guide them, curving them in if they try to do anything mischievous or contrary to the rein. She holds over her heads against the wind a light scarf of sea-purple to provide a shade for herself and a sail for her chariot, and from it a kind of radiance falls upon her forehead and her head, though no white more charming than the bloom on her cheek; her hair is not tossed by the breeze, for it is so moist that it is proof against the wind. And lo, her right elbow stands out and her white forearm is bent back, while she rests her fingers on her delicate shoulder, and her arms are gently rounded, and her breasts project, nor yet is beauty lacking in her thigh. Her foot, with the graceful part that ends in it, is painted as on the sea, my boy, and it lightly touches the water as if it were the rudder guiding her chariot. Her eyes are wonderful, for they have a kind of distant

look that travels as far as the sea extends".

Raffaello Sanzio The nymph Galatea , c. 1512-14 Fresco, Villa Farnesina, Rome

AmphitriteRoman mosaic in the archaelogical museum of El Jem, Tunis

אך אין אנו מכירים סיפור מיתולוגי על אהבת נפטון לונוס וגם לא לגלטיאה. אם תחת הכותרת 'לידתה של ונוס' ניתן לומר שנפטון מסייע לונוס שנולדה זה עתה

מקצף הגלים להגיע בשלום לחוף, תירוץ זה אינו תופס לגבי גלטיאה נימפת הים.

דמות נשית נוספת הבאה בחשבון הינה אמפיטריט נימפת הים היפה ששבתה את ליבו של נפטון ליד האי נקסוס.

נפטון ביקש את ידה אך אמפיטריט הביישנית נסה והתחבאה בזרמי האוקיינוס האטלנטי הרחוקים משאר העולם.

נפטון שלח אז את דלפין, מלכת הדולפינים לחפשה וזו שכנעה את אמפיטריט לשוב ולהינשא לנפטון. לחילופין לאחר שאמפיטריט נמצאה נפטון כפה עצמו

עליה בניגוד לרצונה ואז נשא אותה לאשה.

The Chariot of Pseidon Floor Mosaic, Constantine (Algeria), ca 315 - 325 ADMusée du Louvre, ParisPoseidon and Amphitrite ride across the sea in a chariot drawn by four Hippokampoi (fish-tailed horses), and accompanied by a host of winged Erotes (love-gods). The god holds a trident, and the heads of him and his wife are surrounded by shining aureoles.

Oppian, Halieutica 1. 38 (trans. Mair) (Greek poet C3rd A.D.):

" The Delphines )Dophins(; Poseidon loves them exceedingly, inasmuch

as when he was seeking Amphitrite the dark-eyed daughter of Nereus

who fled from his embraces, Delphines )the Dolphins( marked her hiding

in the halls of Okeanos and told Poseidon; and the god of the dark hair

straightway carried off the maiden and overcame her against her will.

Her he made his bride, queen of the sea, and for their tidings he

commended his kindly attendants and bestowed on them exceeding

honour for their portion".

Triumph of Neptune and AmphitritePoseidon and Amphitrite ride in a chariot drawn by fish-tailed Hippokampoi (marine horses). The god holds a trident in his hand, and the pair are crowned with aureoles (shining haloes).Roman floor Mosaic, Utica, 2nd century ADMuseo del Bardo, Tunis

Hesiod, Theogony 930 ff (trans. Evelyn-White) (Greek epic C8th or 7th B.C.):

" And of Amphitrite and the loud-roaring Earth-Shaker

[Poseidon] was born great, wide-ruling Triton, and he owns the

depths of the sea, living with his dear mother and the lord his

father in their golden house, an awful god".

Pseudo-Apollodorus, Bibliotheca 1. 28 (trans. Aldrich)

)Greek mythographer C2nd A.D: (.

" Poseidon married Amphitrite, and had as children Triton and

Rhode".

Pseudo-Hyginus, Astronomica 2. 17

)trans. Grant) (Roman mythographer C2nd A.D: (.

" Constellation Delphin. Eratosthenes and others give the following

reason for the dolphin’s being among the stars. Amphitrite, when

Neptunus [Poseidon] desired to wed her and she preferred to keep

her virginity, fled to Atlas. Neptunus sent many to seek her out,

among them a certain Delphin, who, in his wanderings among the

islands, came at last to the maiden, persuaded her to marry

Neptunus, and himself took charge of the wedding. In return for this

service, Neptunus put the form of a dolphin among the

constellations".

Neptune and Amphitrite MosaicPoseidon (Neptune) and Amphitrite on their nuptual chariot .

Museo Archeologico Nazionale Napoli

לפי הסבר זה, התמונה שלפנינו מציגה את ניצחון אהבתם של נפטון

ואמפיטריט. הוא שב במרכבת ההיפוקמפי, היא

במרכבה הרתומה לדולפינים ומעליהם חגים אלי האהבה והנישואין ומקדשים

את הקשר ביניהם.ואם כן נושא היצירה יישאר תמיד

במחלוקת שכן פוסן אינו מגביל עצמו לטקסט מיתולוגי אחד.

התמונה נמכרה לצארית 1771ב-קתרינה הגדולה. בהמשך היא הוצגה

במוזיאון ההרמיטאז' בסנט פטרסבורג. התמונה נמכרה על ידי השלטון 1930ב-

הסובייטי שנזקק למטבע מערבי קשה ומאז היא מוצגת במוזיאון פילדלפיה

לאמנות.

:מקורות

עריכה: אסף פלר

http://www.philamuseum.org/collections/permanent/102996.html

http://www.wga.hu/frames-e.html?/html/p/poussin/index.html

http://www.theoi.com/Olympios/AphroditeMyths.html#Birth

http://www.theoi.com/Olympios/Poseidon.html

http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-218027918.html

שלום לך, אני מזמין אותך לבקר באתר המצגות שליולהנות ממצגות נוספותלהתראות, אסף פלר

http://assaffeller.com