The origins of Troy explained, Helen as a princess of Troy, and Menelaos raises an expeditionary force under the command of Agamemnon. Without wind, though, their ships can’t sail.
David
Zeus, disguised as a gander, raped Nemesis, who laid Helen as an egg. She became step-sister of Castor and Polydeuces, and went on to be abducted by Paris as Aphrodite’s bribe.
The meaning of one arm raised depends on the position of the fingers: is it an index finger pointing to heaven, or a sign of benediction?
An overview starting with the sculptural folds of the late 13th century, peaking with Raphael and Rembrandt, and dissolving with Renoir and Sargent in the early 20th century.
David’s Neoclassicism brought uniformity and lack of surface texture. Romanticism followed, with garments dissolving into brushstrokes.
In 1814, following the restoration of the Spanish monarchy, Goya painted four works showing the uprising of 1808. One of these is now a major work of the European canon.
Founded around 1666, the Prix de Rome was an annual contest for narrative painting. First prize was study at the French Academy in Rome.
Mengs’ influence over Spanish painting was replaced by the neo-classicism of Jacques-Louis David. Paintings from 1784 to 1813.
From David’s history paintings of the end of the eighteenth century, the genre went from strength to strength, with major works by Goya, Géricault, and even Manet.
A brief overview of the legendary and mythical history of the city and its empire, with links to all the articles in this series, and some of the finest paintings.
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