Leda and the Swan: I Modi, Plate 11

Leda is depicted nude, reclining on a stone plinth beneath a large tree. Her left leg is raised, and the swan is positioned between her legs, its neck curving toward her face as their beaks/lips meet. Leda’s hair is braided in a classical style, and her muscular anatomy is heavily defined. The stone plinth features a relief carving of two small children (the Dioscuri) emerging from an egg. In the background, a serene landscape features a calm lake, mountains, and a distant classical structure.

This print is part of Jean Frédéric Maximilien de Waldeck's 19th-century recreation of 'I Modi', a controversial series of erotic positions traditionally attributed to Marcantonio Raimondi after designs by Giulio Romano, which were infamous for their subversive take on classical mythology.