Sunday, September 29, 2013

Pygmalion and Galatea by E.M. Falconet (1763)
(wikicommons)
 
Orsino falls in love with Olivia who is for him a projection of his 'anima'; that is, a composite image of the women in his life. Similarly, the sculptor Pygmalion from Ovid's Metamorphoses, falls in love with his own creation, Galatea. Venus, to reward Pygmalion's fidelity, makes Galatea come alive.