Io1.0145_Corinth

Lovis Corinth (1858-1925), "Io with the Cloud" from the Series "The Loves of Zeus" (1920), color lithograph on paper; from the Series "The Loves of Zeus". 13 9/16 x 16 7/16 in. (34.45 x 41.75 cm);18 x 22 1/8 in. (45.72 x 56.2 cm);10 7/8 x 12 5/8 in. (27.62 x 32.07 cm). Ann Arbor, University of Michigan Museum of Art, museum purchase 1948/1.342.

Adapting the moment of Io's encounter with Jupiter who came to her in the form of a cloud, Corinth here is reminiscent of Correggio's Io, a young woman caught up in sexual ecstasy embraced by a nebulous presence. Like Correggio, Corinth obscures the god's face. But unlike Correggio, Corinth seems to present Io's cloud-partner as an exhalation of Jupiter's making blown down from the heavens for an extension of himself.