Leda and the Swan (Michelangelo) to spend in hiding. It was a square work in tempera, representing Jupiter as a swan making love to a reclining Leda (based on a composition from ancient Roman gems and seals), an egg and Castor and Pollux as children. It was completed by mid-October 1530 but Alfonso described it as a "little thing" in Michelangelo's hearing and so he refused to hand it over. The work and some of the preparatory drawings were in fact acquired (either as a purchase or a gift) by Antonio Mini, who took it to France in 1531. In 1532 he left it to
Leda (mythology) by creating the constellation Cygnus (Κύκνος), the Swan, in the sky. Leda and the swan and Leda and the egg were popular subjects in ancient art. In the post-classical arts, it became a potent source of inspiration. It is the subject of William Butler Yeats' poem Leda and the Swan. She is also the main subject in Honoré Desmond Sharrer's "Leda & the Folks", a large painting focusing as well on the parents of entertainer Elvis Presley and currently located at the Smith College Museum of Art. Leda (mythology) In Greek mythology, Leda (; Ancient Greek: Λήδα ) was an