# Orpheus Charming the Animals [View the canonical artwork record]() ## Artwork - Artist: [HONDECOETER, Gillis Claesz. d']() - Date: 1601-1650 - Technique: Oil on canvas, 70 x 106 cm ## Commentary Orpheus is a legendary Thracian poet, famous for his skill with the lyre. He married Eurydice, a wood nymph, and at her death descended into the underworld in an unsuccessful attempt to bring her back to earth. Such was his musical skill that Orpheus charmed not only the wild beasts but also the trees and rocks which would come after him at the sound of his lyre. He sits under a tree plucking the lyre \(in the background, barely seen in the reproduction\), animals of many kinds, wild and domestic are gathered peacefully round him. You can view <A onclick="return OpenOther\('/cgi-bin/search.cgi?author=&title=&comment=orpheus+AND+animal&time=any&school=any&form=any&type=any&location=&header=0&other=0&caption=Depictions+of+Orpheus+taming+the+animals'\)" HREF="/cgi-bin/search.cgi?author=&title=&comment=orpheus+AND+animal&time=any&school=any&form=any&type=any&location=&header=0&other=0&caption=Depictions+of+Orpheus+taming+the+animals">other depictions</A> of Orpheus taming the animals. <P> <TABLE ALIGN=LEFT CELLPADDING=5 BORDER=1 WIDTH=320 BGCOLOR="\#99CCCC"> <TR VALIGN=MIDDLE><TD><IMG SRC="/support/gif/listen.gif" BORDER=0 VALIGN=MIDDLE> Suggested listening \(streaming mp3, 7 minutes\):<BR><A HREF="\#" onClick="w=window.open \('/music1/18\_cent/gluck\_orfeo.html', 'newWin', 'scrollbars=yes,status=no,dependent=yes,screenX=0,screenY=0,width=350,height=350'\);w.opener=this;w.focus\(\);return true"><B>Cristoph Willibald Gluck: Orfeo, Act I, Orpheus' aria in G Major</B></A> </TD></TR></TABLE> ## Related artworks - [Baptism of the Moorish Chamberlain]() - [Cattle Resting in a Dune Landscape]() - [Landscape]() ## Attribution [Web Gallery of Art]()