Prometheus Tormented by a Vulture

Bound to a rock on the Caucasus, Prometheus endures the bird that consumes his liver, renewed each night. The book calls the tormentor either a vulture or an eagle. It connects the punishment with the theft of celestial fire and with Prometheus's earlier attempt to deceive Jupiter over a sacrifice.

The commentary gives alternative endings, including liberation by Hercules, and reads the recurring wound as an image of relentless anxiety and persecution. The solitary body, looming bird and distant landscape concentrate an expansive myth into an encounter between endurance and power.

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 5 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 5.

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.

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