Dibutades: The Myth of Painting's Female Inventor
The myth of Dibutades, the Corinthian maid credited with inventing painting by tracing her lover's shadow, originates from Pliny the Elder's Natural History. While Pliny did not name her, later sources identify her as Dibutades, daughter of potter Butades. The story gained popularity among Western artists from the 1770s to the 1820s, particularly in Britain and France. Key depictions include David Allan's The Origin of Painting (1775), Joseph Wright of Derby's The Corinthian Maid (1782-1784), Jean-Baptiste Regnault's The Origin of Painting (1786), and Joseph Benoît Suvée's Invention of the Art of Drawing (1791). Female artists also engaged the theme: Mlle. Gueret exhibited Modern Dibutade in 1793, and Jeanne-Élisabeth Chaudet showed Dibutade Coming to Visit Her Lover's Tomb (1810), later destroyed in World War I. The myth has persisted in feminist discourse and was parodied by Vitaly Komar and Alexander Melamid in The Origin of Socialist Realism (1982-1983).
Key facts
- Dibutades traced her lover's shadow on a wall using a lamp, as recounted by Pliny the Elder.
- Pliny's Natural History attributes painting's origin to shadow outlining, but names Dibutades only in the chapter on clay modeling.
- Her father Butades filled the outline with clay, creating a relief preserved in the Temple of the Nymphs until Mummius sacked Corinth.
- The myth was referenced by Leonardo da Vinci, Quintilian, and Giorgio Vasari.
- David Allan's The Origin of Painting (1775) was engraved and used in a collection with music by Beethoven.
- Joseph Wright of Derby's The Corinthian Maid (1782-1784) pairs Dibutades with Penelope, emphasizing fidelity.
- Jean-Baptiste Regnault's version (1786) was commissioned by Queen Marie Antoinette and set in an Arcadian landscape.
- Jeanne-Élisabeth Chaudet's Dibutade Coming to Visit Her Lover's Tomb (1810) was destroyed in World War I.
Entities
Artists
- Dibutades
- Butades
- Pliny the Elder
- Leonardo da Vinci
- Marcus Fabius Quintilianus
- Giorgio Vasari
- Joachim von Sandrart
- Alexander Runciman
- David Allan
- Joseph Wright of Derby
- Jean-Baptiste Regnault
- Joseph Benoît Suvée
- Mlle. Gueret
- Jeanne-Élisabeth Chaudet
- Vitaly Komar
- Alexander Melamid
- Anne Louis Girodet Trioson
- Karen Knorr
- Enid Bennett
- Douglas Fairbanks
- Bartolomé Esteban Murillo
- Bernard Picart
- Eduard Daege
- William Smyth
- Robert Rosenblum
- Josiah Wedgwood
- Marie Antoinette
- Athenagoras
- Denis Diderot
Institutions
- Academy of St. Luke
- National Galleries of Scotland
- National Gallery of Art
- J. Paul Getty Museum
- Salon des Nobles du Château de Versailles
- Groeningemuseum
- Arras Museum
- Alte Nationalgalerie
- Zimmerli Museum
- Rijksmuseum
- National Museum of Art of Romania
- Royal Collection Trust
- Forbes
Locations
- Corinth
- Greece
- Sikyon
- Egypt
- Tibet
- Mongolia
- India
- Rome
- Italy
- Britain
- France
- Edinburgh
- Scotland
- Washington, DC
- USA
- Los Angeles
- California
- Versailles
- Bruges
- Belgium
- Arras
- Berlin
- Germany
- New Brunswick
- New Jersey
- Amsterdam
- Netherlands
- Bucharest
- Romania