Leda

Leda (1870) at the Musee Gustave Moreau depicts the myth of Zeus disguised as a swan who seduces or rapes the Spartan queen — one of the most problematic subjects in the Greco-Roman tradition, whose visual history stretches from antique sculpture through Leonardo (destroyed), Michelangelo (lost), and Correggio. Moreau's engagement with this subject is consistent with his broader interest in mythological scenes of divine-human contact that combine erotic force with supernatural power. By 1870, his Symbolist iconography was well developed, and the Leda subject allowed him to extend his femme fatale imagery in a direction where the dangerous being is not the woman but the divinity who desires her. The swan's whiteness and formal elegance were particular visual assets that Moreau's decorative sensibility could exploit.

The swan's white plumage against the warm flesh of the female figure creates a strong coloristic contrast that structures the composition. Moreau renders the bird's feathers with careful attention to their texture and layering, while the woman's body receives his characteristic warm, richly colored flesh modeling.