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Ixion is an oil-on-canvas painting by the Spanish artist Jusepe de Ribera, signed and dated 1632. It depicts the myth of the eternal punishment meted out by Jupiter on finding the giant Ixion in the bed of his wife Juno. The picture shows the giant tied to a perpetually turning wheel. The condemned man is depicted face down, his agony expressed by his contorted position and strained muscles, the dramatic tension being accentuated by the lighting. His enormous body, animated by the circular movement of his punishment, issues from a black background and seems to be toppling towards the viewer. Below and to the left is his tormentor, a satyr with horns and pointed ears, who is gesturing fiercely towards his victim.
This painting was part of a series of four paintings; the other three showed the tortures of Sisyphus, Tantalus and Tityos. Only Ixion and Tityos survive, both in the collection of the Museo del Prado in Madrid.Painting credit: Jusepe de Ribera