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The Giants? Battle with the Gods, D818

Explanation

  • The Titans are armed with lances, clubs and big pieces of rock. They move in groups up the steep cliffs. At the top, a Titan has managed to capture one of the women of Olympus. The gods of Olympus are led by Zeus in a chariot. From the cloud formations at the top left he together with Athene, Artemis and Apollo is doing battle against the Titans. Other gods, including Ares and Poseidon, are fighting from the other side. The numerous diagonal lines in the composition underline the drama and violence of the battle. The portrayal is based on Hesiod’s poem The Theogony from the middle of the 7th century BC. The figures and the composition are inspired by Michelangelo’s painting of the Day of Judgement in the Sistine Chapel in Rome. The drawing has been interpreted as reflecting the sympathy which the republican Asmus Jacob Carstens’ had for the French Revolution.