Artwork
Meleager und Atalante
Meleager und Atalante is an unspecified painting by the Flemish Baroque painting artist Gerbrand van den Eeckhout. It dates from 1671 and is held in the collection of the Bavarian State Painting Collections.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
By focusing on these specific characters, the painting captures the dramatic tension and emotional weight inherent in their mythological story.
Gerbrand van den Eeckhout's 1671 painting, Meleager und Atalante, illustrates a pivotal moment from Greek mythology featuring the hero Meleager and the huntress Atalanta. The work depicts these two central figures, whose relationship is defined by the Calydonian Boar Hunt, a legendary event where Atalanta drew the first blood and Meleager awarded her the boar's hide. This exchange sparked a dispute among the male hunters that ultimately led to Meleager's death.
The composition serves as a visual narrative of their shared valor and the tragic consequences of the conflict over the spoils. By focusing on these specific characters, the painting captures the dramatic tension and emotional weight inherent in their mythological story.
Technique & Style
Meleager und Atalante is an oil painting executed by Gerbrand van den Eeckhout in 1671. The work is created on a canvas support, measuring 105 cm in height and 135 cm in width. As a product of the Dutch Golden Age, the piece reflects the stylistic conventions of its era through its narrative depiction of the mythological figures Meleager and Atalanta.
The painting is currently held within the collection of the Bavarian State Painting Collections at the Alte Pinakothek.
History & Provenance
The painting Meleager und Atalante by Gerbrand van den Eeckhout is dated 1671. It entered the collection of the Bavarian State Painting Collections and is currently held at the Alte Pinakothek in Munich. The work’s ownership history prior to its inclusion in the Bavarian state collection is not documented in the provided sources.
Gerbrand van den Eeckhout's painting Meleager und Atalante, dated 1671, is held within the Bavarian State Painting Collections. The work is specifically located at the Alte Pinakothek in Munich. The provided sources do not contain an inventory or accession number for the piece, nor do they record any specific exhibition history for this artwork.
Context
Gerbrand van den Eeckhout's 1671 oil painting Meleager und Atalante, housed in the Alte Pinakothek, depicts the mythological lovers from Ovid's Metamorphoses, reflecting Baroque fascination with classical narratives and heroic romance. Scholarship emphasizes its technical mastery and compositional balance, situating it within van den Eeckhout's oeuvre as a key example of Dutch Golden Age history painting that bridges Rubensian dynamism with emerging 17th-century restraint. The work's provenance in the Bavarian State Painting Collections underscores its enduring cultural significance.
Overview
Gerbrand van den Eeckhout, a Dutch painter active in the mid‑17th century and a prominent pupil of Rembrandt, completed the work titled Meleager und Atalante in 1671. Executed during the height of the Flemish Baroque, the canvas now belongs to the collection of the Alte Pinakothek in Munich.
Legacy
Although less frequently reproduced than works by his teacher, Eeckhout’s Meleager und Atalante illustrates his ability to synthesize Rembrandt’s tonal mastery with the opulent storytelling favored in Flemish Baroque painting, contributing to the broader appreciation of Dutch artists operating within a pan‑European artistic dialogue.
Artist & collection
Artist
Gerbrand van den Eeckhout (19 August 1621 – 29 September 1674) was a Dutch Golden Age painter and a favourite student of Rembrandt. He was also an etcher, an amateur poet, a collector and an adviser on art.
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