The sacrifice of Polyxena

Romanelli, Giovanni Francesco (1610-1662)

Item type:

painting

Date of creation:

mid-17th century

Height:

197.5 cm  (77 3/4 in.)

Width:

223.5 cm  (88 in.)

Technique / Medium:

oil on canvas

Description

In the center, the scene of the Sacrifice of Polyxena; in the background a young man blowing straight trumpet (only upper part of the instrument visible), and parts of a natural horn visible.
Polyxena was the youngest daughter of Priam, King of Troy. According to a Greek tragedy by Euripides (ca. 480–406 B.C.), she was sacrificed on an altar over the grave of Achilles, whose death she had caused. Romanelli was a prominent painter in Rome and one of the most successful pupils of Pietro da Cortona. This painting is part of a series of classically inspired canvases depicting Ulysses, Cleopatra, Venus, and Polyxena. They were created for Lorenzo Chigi, Marquess of Montoro. The other pictures from the group are now in the Chrysler Museum, Norfolk, Virginia; the Cassa di Risparmio, Viterbo; and the Palazzo Patrizi, Rome.

Iconclass

94H243
Polyxena is sacrificed by Neoptolemus on Achilles' tomb

Instruments [MIMO Code] (notes)

End-blown trumpet [6556]
Natural horn [4126]

RIdIM images

Image URLs

image link 1

RIdIM record id

3829