Volcanic vulvas and hermaphrodite marble at the Rijksmuseum

A report from Theguardian describes an exhibition at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam that pairs rarely lent works by masters such as Caravaggio, Bernini, Rodin and Brâncuși with contemporary artists who reinterpret stories from Ovid’s Metamorphoses. On three massive screens in a darkened room, snakes glide over the face of artist Juul Kraijer, presenting her as a silent but terrifying Medusa.

The show includes plaster models by Auguste Rodin and a room inspired by Leda and the Swan, and features a rare loan from the Louvre: Gian Lorenzo Bernini’s 17th-century Sleeping Hermaphroditus set on a lifelike marble mattress. Works are displayed alongside modern responses that recast ancient narratives.

Transgender bodies, bare breasts and even a volcanic, vulva-like form appear in the contemporary pieces: Nandipha Mntambo’s bronze recasts Jupiter as a powerful female bull, Louise Bourgeois’s Arachne becomes a massive spider, and Ana Mendieta’s Birth (Gunpowder Works) includes a large vulva-like form containing smouldering ash.