Eros and Ganymede. Alfred Sacheverel[l] Coke. c. 1869. Watercolour and gouache on paper, 8 x 10 1/2 inches (20.3 X 26.7 cm). Collection of Victoria and Albert Museum, London. [Click on the image to enlarge it.]
Eros and Ganymede was exhibited at the Dudley Gallery in 1869, no. 329. This watercolour is an archetypal work by a member of the Poetry Without Grammar School, the name given to the group of progressive young artists influenced by Edward Burne-Jones, who exhibited at the same Dudley Gallery. This watercolour resembles the early work of Burne-Jones, such as his Cupid's Forge of 1861, as well as works by other members of the Poetry Without Grammar group done at this time, such as Robert Bateman's Reading of Love, He being by or Walter Crane's The Earth and Spring.
Coke's watercolour shows the nude figures of Eros and Ganymede in a garden setting with a dark mysterious wood in the background. Ganymede is seated on the fountain, holding the leash of his dog which is drinking from the fountain. The sculpture of the kneeling youth pouring water from a jug may relate to Ganymede's role as cup-bearer to Zeus. Eros, with his red wings and with a crown of red roses in his hair, is shown standing and leaning against the fountain with his left leg resting on it. Red roses are symbolic of love and passion and Edward Burne-Jones frequently had his figures of Love wear a similar crown of roses. A crown of red and white roses lies on the grass in in the right foreground. White roses symbolize purity, young love and innocence. Three white doves are seen to the left of the composition. White doves in Greek mythology represent romance because these birds were associated with Aphrodite, the goddess of Love, who was often depicted with doves fluttering around her. Ganymede is looking directly at Eros while Eros looks outwards towards the spectator.
In addition to the influence of Burne-Jones, the Poetry Without Grammar School was impacted by early Renaissance painting. Christopher Newall has noted its influence on this early watercolour by Coke: "Alfred Sacheverell Coke whose mythological subjects such as Eros and Ganymede combine a delicate neo-classicism in their figurative and architectural elements with wooded landscape settings, perhaps inspired by the paintings of Uccello or Giorgione. Such watercolours explored the sexual connotations of classical literature and fable" (106). The story of Eros and Ganymede comes from Greek mythology and the writings of Homer. Ganymede was a prince, the son of Tros the King of Troy, and was considered "the most beautiful of all mortals." He was abducted by Zeus in the form of an eagle and taken to Mount Olympus where he served as cup-bearer of the gods, was granted immortality by Zeus, and made eternally youthful. Eros, the god of love, was his frequent companion on Mount Olympus and they were often portrayed as having an intimate relationship. Ganymede, in fact, is sometimes portrayed as the god of homosexual love. If he was not already familiar with the story of Ganymede though study of the classics, Coke may have been aware of it through Shakespeare's As You Like It. The story of Ganymede had also been popular with the Old Masters from the Italian Renaissance onwards.
According to the Victoria and Albert website this watercolour by Coke depicting Eros and Ganymede apparently served as the cartoon for a tapestry by the Mackintosh Tapestries at Moy Hall, Inverness-shire Scotland. If this is correct this would therefore be an early example of Coke's design work for which he later became well known. An article in The Art Journal from 1883, however, casts doubt on Eros and Ganymede being a tapestry design. The article mentions that while Coke did indeed design for this firm, under the direction of G. T. Robinson, F.S.A., the four tapestries he designed were purely pictorial in treatment and represented a series of episodes in the family history of the Mackintosh, the chieftain of the Clan Chattan (Cole 151).
Bibliography
Cole, Alan S. "The Year's Advance in Art Manufactures. No. V. – Textiles: Lace, Tapestry, Stuffs." The Art Journal (1883): 149-52.
Eros and Ganymede. V. & A. Web. 16 June 2025.
Lambourne, Lionel. The Aesthetic Movement. London: Phaidon, 1996.
Newall, Christopher. Victorian Watercolours. London: Phaidon, 1987. 106-07.
Last modified 16 June 2025