Ceyx and Alcyone

Ceyx and Alcyone are united again through transformation into birds after a fatal sea voyage. The chapter recounts Alcyone's foreboding, the storm that kills her husband and the dream that reveals his fate. Recognising his body at the shore, she moves towards him, and the gods change them both.

The text presents the pair as an emblem of lasting attachment and explains the calm 'halcyon days' as the season when the winds are restrained for their nest. The image belongs to a story in which sea, dream and grief give way to a different form of life.

Historical context is adapted from the accompanying commentary by Antoine de La Barre de Beaumarchais. Its interpretations reflect the period in which the book was published.

This edition follows plate 35 in Le Temple des Muses. The complete historical page and its explanatory text remain available in the source record. Source attribution: Bernard Picart and other engravers, Le Temple des Muses (1749 edition). Museum date: 1749 (publication). Source medium: Engraving, inner pictorial scene. Source portfolio: Le Temple des Muses, plate 35.

The inner illustration has been straightened and extracted from its surrounding engraved frame, caption and paper. The comparison shows that extracted engraving beside Surrealium's contemporary colour interpretation.

Surrealium's contemporary AI-assisted colour interpretation takes this print as its starting point. The colours are interpretive choices made for this edition.

Compare the museum original with the Surrealium edition, then order the finished work as a fine-art print or canvas. No subscription is required to purchase. Customisation is available to active Fable subscribers.