Orpheus in nineteenth-century symbolism

The myth of Orpheus and Euredice was particularly attractive to artists of the nineteenth century, “…captivates the imagination because it is about art, about our notions of the sources of inspiration, the nature of creativity”

To understand how the myth can be translated across such a varied array of artistic styles, one must first be familiar with the myth itself. Ovid, a Roman poet from the 1st Century, explains the tragedy of Orpheus and Eurydice in books 10 and 11 of Metamorphoses. In her book Orpheus in Nineteenth Century Symbolism, Dorothy Kosinksi describes Orpheus as a poet and musician whose powerful songs “soothe[d] primitive man…charm[ed] animals and animat[ed] rocks and trees” (Kosinski 11). When his wife Eurydice is killed by a snake bite, Orpheus uses his gift to persuade Hades to let him lead Eurydice out of the Underworld and back to life. However, Orpheus breaks his deal with Hades by “looking back too soon, [and] he loses Eurydice forever” (Kosinski 11). Consumed by his grief, Orpheus rejects the company of all women, which soon incites the wrath of those he denies. The women “[tear] him limb from limb” (Kosinski 11), murdering Orpheus out of fury at his devotion to Eurydice. Orpheus’ severed head, still singing, floats to the shores of the island of Lesbos, and his soul returns to the Underworld where it is reunited with Eurydice.