Antiope Four

Fourth in a series, the painting is a variation on a theme in which each work veers off in unexpected directions. Antiope was usually painted for the male gaze – with the Satyr, who is Zeus in disguise] pulling away her covering while she sleeps. But here is an alternative view. The antithesis of the revelation and the exposure, here the covering may be tugged, or tweaked but no fleshy body is displayed; when such an image remains concealed then other visual pleasures are accessible.