Baucis and Philemon Entertaining Jupiter and Mercury

Entry

Despite their poverty, Philemon and his wife Baucis were the only ones in their village who were willing to serve a meal to the gods Mercury and Jupiter, who were disguised as peasants (Ovid. Met. VII). The couple were rewarded for their unselfish hospitality. Their simple straw hut was transformed into a temple and just before their death, the elderly couple were turned into an oak and a lime tree so their desire to be united for ever came true.

This deeply carved diorama is a faithful copy of an engraving from Otto van Veen’s book of emblems Quinti Horatii Flacci Emblemata (first edition Antwerp 1607) (fig. a). It shows the moment when the gods have just taken their places. The goose the couple wanted to sacrifice for the meal is under the table. Jupiter’s symbol – an eagle with thunderbolts – has landed on the roof of the hut. Below the relie5, a motto has been cut in high relief: Chacun peut se contanter de son sort (Everyone can be content with his lot). Evidently the maker of the relief had used the 1682 French publication of the book, but had misspelled ‘contenter’ using ‘contanter’ instead. As was customary with such dioramas, the relief was set in a frame behind glass (which today is stored separately).

Although it is considerably less finely detailed, the present diorama has a great deal in common with those made by the Tyrolean sculptor, Sebastian Steiner (1836-1896). Steiner made countless dioramas of this type, usually after genre scenes by his contemporary, the Tyrolean painter Franz von Defregger (1835-1921), but also after compositions from the past, like those of the sculptor Alexander Colyn (c. 1527-1612), who hailed from Mechelen and worked in Germany. In a diorama depicting The Nest Robber ascribed to Sebastian Steiner, after the painting with the same title made in 1852 by the Viennese artist August Gerasch (1822-1908), we encounter a very similar eagle.² The Amsterdam diorama will have been made by a follower or someone from Steiner’s workshop.

The object comes from the Hermans-Smits collection, which the museum purchased in its entirety in 1875. It is accompanied by another diorama (BK-NM-2513), depicting another emblem from Otto van Veen’s book. However, there does not seem to be a logical connection between the two representations. The name (Louis Huijsmans) and the date (13 March 1866) marked on the reverse of the present piece, probably refer to its then owner, who can be identified as the later Belgian Minister of State, Louis Huysmans (1844-1915).

Bieke van der Mark, 2025