Swans, Skeletons, and Secrets: Leda’s Myth Finds New Wings in Women’s Art
A Greek myth once draped in beauty and seduction, the story of Leda and the Swan has long masked its darker edges. Classical painters like Leonardo da Vinci and Rubens favored lush, sensual scenes, glossing over Zeus’s deception and violence. But today, women artists are peeling back the feathers to reveal what lies beneath.
Barbara Walker’s pencil drawing swaps the swan’s proud plumage for bare bones, recasting Leda as defiant and unbroken. Ariane Hughes paints swans that shimmer with innocence, yet hide a sinister undertone—her soft, pearly feathers are a façade for the myth’s cruelty. Heather B. Swann’s sculptures and installations channel the myth’s melancholy, inviting viewers to sit with its discomfort. Meanwhile, Saskia Colwell’s close-up charcoals confront the violence head-on, abstracting bodies into uneasy forms.
Some artists, like Miranda Forrester, shift the focus from Zeus to Leda’s ambiguous motherhood, challenging old ideas about family and belonging. Through these bold reinterpretations, the myth’s old spell is broken—what once seemed beautiful now asks to be questioned, not simply admired.
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