Aeneas and Anchises escaping from Troy – (John Cheere (1709-1787)) ◄ Previous Next ►

Artist: John Cheere (1709-1787)

Size: 102 x 196 cm

Museum: National Palace of Queluz (Queluz, Portugal)

Technique: Sculpture

A lead sculpture, representing the flight of the hero Aeneas from the sacking of the city of Troy. Dressed in military costume, Aeneas carries his father Anchises on his back. In turn, Anchises is holding a statue of a Penates (the deities who guarded hearth and home and were considered to be the depositaries and symbol of the “Trojan race”). Also to be found next to Aeneas are his son Ascanius and his wife Creusa. This composition is based on the work by the French artist François Girardon, presenting differences in the figures of Anchises, Ascanius and Creusa.The scene directs our attention to the epic poem The Aeneid, written by Virgil in the first century BC, which recounts the saga of the Trojan hero Aeneas, the son of Venus (Aphrodite) and Anchises, who had escaped the Trojan war through the will of Jupiter (Zeus), carrying his father on his back with the Penates, and leading his son by the hand, his mission having been laid down for him by destiny: to found a new Troy, the symbol of the future Rome. In his flight, Aeneas manages to save his son, but not his wife, whose fate after the fall of Troy varies according to the different traditions. Some authors turned her into a captive; others placed her among the Trojans who managed to flee the city. In Virgil’s version, Creusa mysteriously disappeared.