South Pavilion
Plaza Level
Gallery S112
French Decorative Arts 1765–1785

A PICTURE PAINTS A THOUSAND WORDS

Did you know that your face and body can talk without making a
sound? Just think of how often you have been able to interpret the
mood of a friend from his/her body language or facial expression.
Faces and bodies are powerful communicators, and artists take
advantage of this to tell stories. Look at how the artist who made 
this painting used each character’s expression and body language 
to tell us a story. 
	
#1	LOOK at the painting and ANSWER the questions about each character’s actions, expressions, and gestures.
#2 	WRITE DOWN the story you think this painting tells.

Look at the FISH/MAN carefully.

Describe his gestures (the way he holds his hands):

Describe the expression on his face:

Look at the GIRL carefully.

Describe her gestures (the way she holds her hands):

Describe the expression on her face:

Look at the BABY carefully.

Describe him:

Describe what he is doing:

Describe the story you think this painting tells. Base your ideas on each character’s, actions, gestures, and expressions. What do you think happened five minutes before? What will happen next?

Have you finished your story? Then compare your version of the story to the story the artist had in mind when he painted this picture.

The title of this painting is Glaucus and Scylla. It tells the story of the ill-fated love of Glaucus, a sea god, for the girl Scylla.

GLAUCUS AND SCYLLA

One day Glaucus, a sea god, set his eyes upon the beautiful girl Scylla, who was wandering along the seashore. He fell madly in love with her. Unfortunately, Scylla thought he was a monster and was afraid of him. She ran all the way to the top of a cliff that jutted out over the sea before she stopped to look down upon the god. Glaucus pleaded with her not to be afraid of him and told her he was in love with her. (In the painting, Glaucus demonstrates his love by pulling aside his beard so that Scylla can see where Cupid’s arrow sticks out of his chest. Cupid was the god of love, and anyone touched by his arrows fell hopelessly in love.) But Scylla still did not return the god’s love, and ran away.

Was your story like the one above? Name two ways in which your story is similar to the story of Glaucus and Scylla. Then list two ways in which it is different?
Similarities:
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Differences:
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Does knowing the story make you look at the painting differently now than when you first saw it? How and why? Discuss your ideas as a group.