Mythological Passions, Exhibition, Museo Nacional del Prado, 3 February-7 April 2021

These paintings were commissioned by King Phillip II over 10 years (between 1551 and 1562) and painted by Titian, who was considered the greatest painter of the 16th-century. The paintings are collectively known as the poesies because Titian saw them as visual versions of the poetry and stories on which they were based. The works are based on Ovid’s Metamorphoses and Jupiter’s Loves by Correggio, as well as other classical works.

Phillip II commissioned Danaë to be painted in 1549, the first in the poesie series. In 1554, Venus and Adonis were painted to be viewed alongside Danaë. In 1156, Phillip II was crowned King of Spain, so Titian sent him Perseus and Andromeda, then Diana and Actaeon and Diana and Callisto which were designed to be a pair and have remained together since they were painted. The final piece in the collection is the Rape of Europa. Titian’s paintings show the most dramatic moments in the Roman and Greek mythological stories of seduction, disguise and power.

Since the works were created gradually, over a period of 10 years, it took a long time for them to be united. It is thought that the first time they hung side-by-side was in the Aranjuez Palace (a former royal residence 50km south of Madrid) in the 17th-century. Now’s your chance to see them hung together again at the Museo Nacional del Prado’s Mythological Passions exhibition.