The motive of this Classicism mythological painting is the ancient Greek mythology: eternally young and beautiful Goddess Hebe , the daughter Zeus and Hera, she was the goddess of youth ( In Greek, the name of the goddess means "the youth.") and the cupbearer of the gods of Mount Olympus, she ministered at the feasts of the gods, she brought the Olympians nectar and ambrosia. After all, the gods were eating and drinking is not something that ordinary people. It is a wonderful drink nectar and food immortal ambrosia made ​​them forever young and strong. And Hebe feeding the faithful servant of Zeus - the eagle. until she was as cupbearer replaced through Hanimed. When the hero Hercules finished his earthly journey, he ascended to Olympus and married Hebe. In Rome Heba referred to Uventa (Latin is Juventus), had some temples and personified eternally youthful prosperity of the state.In the art and poetry of antiquity ( Homer ) and later until 19th century this story "Hebe and the Eagle" was very popular : art works by Canova, Hamilton, Angelika Kauffmann, Giuseppe Craffonara, E. L. Picault and others). Usually she stands with a jug of nectar, and sitting next to the eagle of Zeus (due toother sources - eagle of Jupiter), who stretches his neck to drink. Also in the poetry of early 19th century was this legend popular . For exemple, Russian poet Tyutchev dedicated young goddess of the following lines:"You say, "Windy Hebe, Feeding Zeus´s eagleboiling cup from the sky,Laughing, spilled on the ground". For the similar subjects ( bronze sculpture by Emile Louis Picault and monumental painting by Luigi Rocco ) see item numbers: 1262,1802 and 2194 on our web-site.

The author of our great mythological painting is the famous French-German painter, sculptor and lithographer of Classicism epoch Louis Fischer (originally Louis Francois Poisson, Marquis de Marigny) . He was born 1784 in Paris , died 1845 in Schwerin. Father of the painter Th.Fischer-Poisson. Louis Fischer took part as a French officer in the war of 1806/1807 and was then in Goldberg (Mecklenburg) down as an art teacher and painter. Here he changed his name in German style, soon after his marriage (1811) he moved to Güstrow and since 1815 in Schwerin, where he was hired as an art teacher at Pagen Institute. 1824 study in Dresden. Painting Gallery of Schwerin had of him fruit and floral still lifes as well as a "Quodlibet" (cataloques of 1824). Painting Gallery in Mainz - a 1823 dated still life. In 1834 he was represented at the exhibition of Berlin Academy. His plastic, figurative and mythological works are very rare on the art market and to be placed in noble private properties.

Literature: Nagler "Kuenstlerlexikon", IV, 1837; "Allgemeines Kuenstlerlexikon" by Thieme/Becker (Leipzig, 1999); Cataloque of the Gallery of Mainz, 1911, No.22, Academical exhibition in Berlin 1834, p. 16 by Thieme/Becker (Leipzig, 1999)

Inscription: signed and dated 1827, lower right.

Technique: oil on canvas.Original period classicistical gold-plated frame.

Measurements: unframed w 31 7/8" x h 38 1/2" (81 x 98 cm), framed w 37 3/4 " x h 44 1/2" (96 x 113 cm).

Condition: in good condition, restored by a professional restorer, the canvas was relined.