The goddess Hera, 1890 - Henri Louis Marius Pinta (1856 -1944 )

Henri Louis Marius Pinta, ( 1856 -1944 )

Winner of the Prix de Rome for painting in 1884 for his painting Le Serment de Brutus après la mort de Lucrèce, Pinta is best known for his religious compositions. From 1885 to 1888, he was a resident at the Villa Medici in Rome, during Ernest Hébert's second directorship2.
"The goddess HERA", dated 1890 on the sleeve.
In Greek mythology, Hera sends Argos, the hundred-eyed giant, to watch over her unfaithful husband Zeus, who is in love with Io. To regain his freedom, the king of the gods asks Hermes to kill the giant. Which he does. Hera, dejected, transfers Argos' eyes to her favorite animal: the peacock. The peacock with a hundred eyes indicates the desire for multiple gazes.