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How to Read Paintings: The Origin of the Milky Way by Tintoretto
When Greek myth and astrology collide
Painted by the Italian artist Tintoretto, The Origin of the Milky Way tells the story of how the stars in the night sky were created.
Against a brilliant aquamarine blue, the figures in the image twist and spiral, dramatically enacting an ancient myth that connects passion with creation and insinuates the idea that the human psyche and the greater cosmos are intimately linked.
So how do we go about reading this painting?
Suckling The Mortal Child
Descending from the upper right of the image, clothed in red and blue robes, is Jupiter, the father of the gods.
The nude woman is Juno, his long-suffering wife.
Jupiter is holding his child Hercules in his arms. The only problem is that Hercules is not Juno’s child.
Instead, Hercules was born from a liaison between Jupiter and a mortal woman named Alcmene. In order to procure the gift of immortality for his son, Jupiter secretly carried his newborn to Juno and attempted to let the child suckle her as she slept.
Awoken by this intimate intrusion, the startled Juno leaps up from her bed, and in doing so sprays…
