Hippolyta murdered for her girdle, Penthesilea killed by Achilles at Troy, Hippolyta abandoned by Theseus for Phaedra, and Thalestris impregnated by Alexander the Great.
Guérin
The fictional Marcus Sextus, Napoleon pardoning the rebels of Cairo, and Narcissus where he shouldn’t be: disinformation in history painting.
A little of the history of Egypt, from Books of the Dead in 1300 BCE, up to Napoleon’s campaign there between 1798-1801.
After his death, over 1500 of his pastels were sold, the great majority of which have since disappeared. Here are some of the finest of the survivors.
The story of Orestes, son of Agamemnon, King of Mycenae and commander of the Greek forces in the Trojan War, who was murdered by his wife.
A banquet with a river god, a pitched battle at his friend’s wedding which turned into a full-scale war, a relationship involving incest, suicide and violent death, and the abduction of Helen – quite the career of a Greek hero.
Founded around 1666, the Prix de Rome was an annual contest for narrative painting. First prize was study at the French Academy in Rome.
Wonderful paintings by Reni, Fragonard, Evelyn De Morgan, Poussin, Rubens, and a very unusual late Fantin-Latour.
Not just a pretty atmospheric effect, she’s a messenger of the gods, and is involved in many myths. Superb paintings by Guérin, Fuseli and others.
Caesar and Cleopatra in Egypt, the suicide of Cato the Younger, Caesar’s triumphs, and the development of a conspiracy to assassinate Caesar.
The Eclectic Light Company 