The Judgement of Midas
About this artwork
This drawing represents a scene from the Roman poet Ovid’s ‘Metamorphoses’. The figure at the lower left represents Pan, while the one on the right is Apollo with his lyre. Apollo and Pan had a musical contest that was to be judged by the mountain god Tmolus, who picked Apollo as the winner. King Midas, who was also present at the contest, disagreed with Tmolus, believing Pan to be the better musician. Apollo punished him for this by turning his ears into those of an ass. Tognone has shown the moment when King Midas, standing above and behind Pan, intervenes with Tmolus’s decision. Tmolus defends his judgment by pointing to Apollo, his favoured musician. Apollo glares at Midas, who is unaware of his fate at Apollo’s hands.
Updated before 2020
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artist:
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title:The Judgement of Midas
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date created:About 1560 - 1575
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materials:Pen, ink and wash, heightened with white on blue paper
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measurements:20.40 x 20.60 cm: plus 2.30 and 0.30 cm additions
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object type:
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credit line:David Laing Bequest to the Royal Scottish Academy on loan 1966
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accession number:RSA 156
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gallery:
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depicted:
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subject:
Antonio Vicentino (Tognone)
Antonio Vicentino (Tognone)
Very little is known about the artist known as Tognone. He was a pupil of Battista Zelotti (about 1526-1578) who was an assistant and follower of Paolo Veronese. Tognone’s artistic career was brief, lasting roughly from 1560 to 1575. He was active in Vincenza in the Vento region of Italy, and he...