Pygmalion and the Image series which dates back to 1867–1870, used harsher tones, darker colours and less fluid lines – as may be seen in the Gallery below. This second version, despite being painted in oils, has the sheen and soft tones of chalk. The story tells of Pygmalion, a sculptor of Cyprus, the birthplace of Aphrodite. It was first related in Ovid's "Metamorphoses", although by the time of this series, William Morris had written his own version of the story. Pygmalion is seen here in his studio, pondering his lonely life, having chosen to remain celibate in disgust at what he saw as the
Pygmalion (Rousseau) of the libretto for Gluck's opera "Orfeo ed Euridice", premiered later that year, in which Orpheus gives his dead wife Eurydice life through song, instead of losing faith in the gods. Unlike "Pygmalion", the opera still insists on divine intervention to give life, again via Eros, who intervenes to rescue her and bring her back to life after Orpheus turns around and condemns her back to death. Even so, "Orfeo" and "Pygmalion" both demonstrate the 1760s theme of an apparent failure by overturning an artist's success, which arose again around the time of Beethoven and then held sway until the