The Peacock Complaining to Juno - Gustave Moreau
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Description
A delicate Symbolist watercolour by Gustave Moreau, depicting the goddess Juno with her peacock, inspired by the fables of La Fontaine.
Gustave Moreau, a central figure in the French Symbolist movement, produced this work based on the fables of Jean de La Fontaine. The composition depicts the goddess Juno, identified by her crown and sceptre, seated amidst clouds. Beside her stands a peacock, the bird traditionally associated with her, displaying its plumage. The scene draws upon classical mythology, yet Moreau treats the subject with his characteristic focus on decorative detail and dreamlike atmosphere.
Moreau employs a delicate application of watercolour and gouache, allowing for a luminous quality that defines his later works. The figure of Juno is rendered with ethereal grace, her form draped in flowing garments that merge into the surrounding clouds. The peacock, rendered with attention to the iridescent eyes of its feathers, provides a contrast to the lighter tones of the goddess. In the upper reaches of the composition, a star shines, adding to the celestial nature of the scene. Below, a suggestion of a distant, architectural horizon hints at the artist's interest in ancient civilisations.
This piece reflects Moreau's departure from the rigid academic standards of his time. He favoured subjective interpretation and poetic imagery over strict narrative clarity. The work is not merely a retelling of a fable, but an exploration of texture, light, and colour. The artist's technique involves layering thin washes of paint, creating a sense of depth that feels suspended in time. By focusing on the interaction between the divine figure and her symbolic animal, Moreau creates a quiet, contemplative moment. The work remains an example of his ability to blend historical themes with a personal, imaginative vision, characteristic of his output during the late nineteenth century.
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Museum-grade giclée on FSC-certified archival matte paper, with framed and canvas options.
- Paper sizes: A4, A3, A2, A1, A0 and B2 (50×70 cm)
- Canvas: XS (20×30 cm) to Large (60×90 cm)
- Frames: black, natural wood, dark wood or white
The Peacock Complaining to Juno - Gustave Moreau
Artist Biography
Gustave Moreau
He was born in Paris in 1826, a sickly, solitary child who drew compulsively. He trained at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts and fell under the influence of Theodore Chasseriau, an eclectic painter whose depictions of enigmatic sea goddesses left a permanent mark. Chasseriau's death in 1856 shook Moreau badly enough to send him to Italy for two years, where he copied Mantegna, Carpaccio and the Venetians, filling notebooks with studies that fed his work for decades.
His breakthrough came at the 1864 Salon with Oedipus and the Sphinx, a painting that fused classical mythology with a strange, jewelled intensity that critics struggled to categorise. He became the foremost Symbolist painter, working in a style guided by what has been called Neo-Platonist faith: a belief that the physical world was imperfect and that art could capture something closer to divine vision. He never married, regarding the career of an artist as "a true priesthood", though he maintained a discreet relationship with Alexandrine Dureux for decades, subsidising an apartment for her near his family home.
As a teacher at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts, Moreau proved unexpectedly open-minded. His students included Henri Matisse and Georges Rouault, both of whom credited his insistence on personal expression over academic formula. Andre Breton and Salvador Dali later claimed his Symbolist imagery as a direct precursor to Surrealism.
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