Pare-feu aux harpies

This superbly crafted firescreen is adorned with harpies at it's base; these winged goddesses with long hair were, in Greek mythology, faster than the wind, more bird-like than human and reported to live at the entrance to the underworld. Diego's passion for animals and his natural uneasiness and modesty at modelling portraits meant that he was happier modelling mythological figures such as the harpies, and their prescence in this work demonstrates the great inspiration and influence on Diego of folklore and mythology.