Latona changing the Lycian peasants into frogs (after Elsheimer?), 1610-13 (oil on copper)

The ancient poet Ovid recounts how Latona, the mother of the twin mythological deities Apollo and Diana, turned a group of inhospitable peasants into frogs. They had stirred up the mud at the bottom of a pond to prevent Latona from drinking from it. The scene takes place in Lycia, a region in Asia Minor (now Turkey but then under Roman rule). König made many miniature pictures for collectors. He often painted on copper, a smooth and luminous surface that allowed for fine detail. This painting copies a composition by the German artist Adam Elsheimer (1578-1610), one of the greatest small-scale painters of his day.