The Swan Maidens

This painting depicts women with large, golden, feathered wings bathing in a pond, with golden swans, some with human faces, flying above them. In another version of this painting, which I prefer, the women are depicted in a different art style, and their wings and the swans are white rather than golden. Although Walter Crane, the artist who painted this work, is commonly known for his illustrations in children’s books, his other works were also inspired by myth and folklore, which he used to explore themes like rebirth and renewal. Crane’s works were especially popular in Germany, as Germans considered the symbolic and figurative portrayals of the otherworldly subjects in his works to be “in sympathy with the Teutonic mind.” This painting is considered to be one of Crane’s many Wagnerian works following his 1893 visit to the town Bayreuth in Bavaria, Germany. The myth of the swan maidens that inspired this painting could be traced back to antiquity in Europe, with another source tracing it to Scandinavian folklore, although similar myths could be found across the globe. The various interpretations of this tale usually feature a hunter, on his way down a lake in search of some ducks, encounters seven swan maidens who had removed their swan skins to swim in the lake. The hunter steals the skin of the youngest and prettiest maiden before marrying her.