Jupiter and Semele

Gustave Moreau’s Jupiter and Semele, completed in 1895, depicts the moment from Ovid’s myth when the mortal Semele, tricked into asking to see her divine lover in his true form, is overwhelmed by the brilliance of Jupiter enthroned. Around them an intricate cosmos of nymphs, gods, and fantastic creatures blooms like a jeweled vision. Moreau’s dense, dreamlike symbolism and his jewel-like color made this one of the culminating works of the Symbolist movement.