Artist: Jean Baptiste Marie Pierre
Date: 1740
Size: 197 x 148 cm
Museum: The Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York, United States Of America)
Technique: Oil On Canvas
This painting’s subject taken from ancient history—a second-century BCE tale of dynastic succession, murder, and morally motivated self-sacrifice—was nearly as obscure to Pierre’s audiences as it is to us today. The guidebook to the Salon of 1751, where Pierre showed this painting, offered an explanation of what was depicted, evidence of the drawbacks of complex history subjects. Nonetheless, it is easy to appreciate Pierre’s mastery of Baroque dramatic action through poses, facial expressions, and drapery. His decision to exhibit the painting a decade after it was executed was probably prompted by the publication of Charles Nicolas Cochin’s engraving of it in 1751.
Artist |
|
---|---|
Download |
|
Permissions |
Free for non commercial use. See below. |
![]() |
This image (or other media file) is in the public domain because its copyright has expired. However - you may not use this image for commercial purposes and you may not alter the image or remove the watermark. This applies to the United States, Canada, the European Union and those countries with a copyright term of life of the author plus 70 years.
|