Gabriel Puig Roda

Gabriel Puig Roda (1865 Tírig/Spain - Vinaroz 1919) - At the Swan Pond. Oil on wood. (18)94. 36.4 x 15.9 cm. Signed lower left and dated "Roma 94" with location. Titled verso. Framed. Gabriel Puig Roda, who grew up as the son of simple farmers in a suburb of Valencia, excelled as a genre painter after studying art. Here he depicts three ladies in traditional Spanish costume trying to attract swans with food in a park. Between them stands a sculpture of Hera on a pedestal, recognizable by her chaste attire, consisting of the puffed-up chiton and the royal headdress. In her hands she holds a sceptre and a sacrificial bowl (patera) as a symbol of her rule. Hera, the goddess of marriage, is possibly an allusion to the Leda myth. Her husband (and brother), the father of the gods Zeus, was known to be a philanderer and had many affairs, which resulted in numerous extramarital children. Provenance: Lempertz, Cologne, auction, 30.10.1937, lot 88; Quentin auction house, Berlin, auction, 19.10.2013, lot 100; Private collection, Germany. Taxation: differential taxation (VAT: Margin Scheme)