Circe Transforms Scylla into a Sea Monster - Johann Wilhelm Baur

A detailed seventeenth-century etching by Johann Wilhelm Baur depicting the mythological transformation of Scylla into a sea monster.

This etching by Johann Wilhelm Baur depicts the Ovidian transformation of Scylla, a nymph who is cursed by the sorceress Circe. The scene captures the moment Scylla enters the water, her lower body beginning to manifest the monstrous canine heads that define her mythological fate. Baur, a German artist active in the early seventeenth century, was known for his precise draughtsmanship and his ability to render complex narrative sequences within a single frame.

The composition is structured around the central figure of Scylla, who stands waist-deep in the sea. Her posture conveys a sense of sudden realisation as the transformation takes hold. To the right, a large, craggy rock formation anchors the foreground, while a distant volcano emits a plume of smoke, adding a sense of atmospheric tension to the coastal setting. The water is rendered with short, rhythmic lines that suggest movement and depth, contrasting with the more solid, hatched shading of the rocky outcrops.

Baur’s technique demonstrates the influence of his time in Italy, where he absorbed the dramatic sensibilities of the Baroque period. The etching is part of a larger series illustrating Ovid's Metamorphoses, a project that allowed Baur to explore themes of change and divine intervention. The work is characterised by its clarity and its focus on the physical manifestation of the myth. The sky is filled with delicate, horizontal hatching that suggests a vast, open space, drawing the eye toward the horizon where a small ship is visible. This print offers a clear example of seventeenth-century printmaking, where the artist used the copper plate to create a narrative that is both descriptive and evocative of the classical source material.