Hera wzywająca Erynie: An 18th-Century Etching Illustrating Ovid's Metamorphoses

This etching, titled 'Hera wzywająca Erynie' (Juno commanding the Furies), was created between 1767 and 1771 by Jean Massard and Philippe-Louis Parizeau. It is a rare example of a nocturnal scene among the illustrations for the Parisian edition of Ovid's Metamorphoses, depicting an angry Hera descending to the underworld to command the Furies.

The etching 'Hera wzywająca Erynie' (Juno commanding the Furies), created by engraver Jean Massard after a design by draughtsman Philippe-Louis Parizeau between 1767 and 1771 in Paris, is a significant piece from the Parisian edition of Ovid's Metamorphoses. It is notably a rare example of a nocturnal illustration within this collection. The artwork depicts a dramatic moment from Book IV of Ovid's text, where the wrathful Hera, resentful of Ino's happiness and her role as guardian to Dionysus, decides to inflict madness upon Ino and her husband Athamas. The scene captures Hera's descent to the underworld to issue orders to the Furies. The accompanying text details the tragic consequences, including Athamas's madness and the deaths of their sons, with Hera's subsequent intervention to save Ino, who is transformed into the sea goddess Leucothea. The composition by Parizeau, with certain modifications, was later reinterpreted by Nicolas-André Monsiau for an illustrated edition of the Metamorphoses in 1806–1807.