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Notes
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A boat waits to take Ceyx to the large wooden ship in the distance, upon which he will sail to the oracle at Claros. An oracle was a divinely inspired priest or priestess who would offer advice and answer questions. Alcyone, who had a premonition of a violent storm at sea, is on her knees begging Ceyx not to go.
Alcyone’s prediction came true. The Philadelphia panel shows Ceyx’s drowned body and Alcyone, appalled at the sight of it, launching herself into the sea. Their tragic end provoked a god to spare them both, transforming them into birds which appear to the left of the Philadelphia panel.
Title
The Departure of Ceyx
Date
probably about 1502-7
Medium
Oil on spruce
Measurements
H 74.9 x W 88.9 cm
Accession number
NG3085
Acquisition method
Layard Bequest, 1916
Work type
Painting
The National Gallery, London
Trafalgar Square, London, Greater London WC2N 5DN England
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The Departure of Ceyx The National Gallery, London -
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