Until today, no one had yet identified the source image for Jay-Z's new album, Magna Carta Holy Grail, but the Metropolitan Museum of Art just tweeted the image above, naming the sculpture Alpheus and Arethusa by Battista di Domenico Lorenzi (Italian, ca. 1527/28–1594) as the rapper's inspration. The sculpture is a depiction of a Greek myth about the nymph Arethusa who is pursued by the river god Alpheus. In attempt to escape her pursuer, Arethusa transforms into a stream. Maybe Jay-Z is referencing his own transformation from hustler to rapper to performance artist, or maybe he just spotted the sculpture at the Met and thought it would look good as an album cover. Your guess is as good as ours.
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