A predatory wolf was troubling a town in the Apennine Mountains one winter. Its delightful story is the basis of a superb painting by Luc-Olivier Merson, famous for his mosaic in the Basilica of the Sacré-Cœur in Montmartre.
myth
Troy is sacked and burning, and its women being taken away as trophies. Two stories stress the horror, as a princess is sacrificed for fair winds, and a callous murder is avenged.
He was remarkably successful, a truly self-made artist, who rose from nothing to international renown. But did he ‘occasion a revolution in the art’?
Ajax and Ulysses put their claims to the Greek leaders to be given the arms and armour of Achilles, after his death. The outcome is a shock.
Admiral Lord Nelson died in similar circumstances to General Wolfe – leading his force to victory, although here at sea in the Battle of Trafalgar. Cue for a ‘modern history painting’.
A curious short tale of an unfortunate death, then the divine conspiracy which led to the death of its greatest warrior, Achilles, in the Trojan War. More Rubens…
West turns to a series of more classical mythological stories for his paintings between 1792 and 1802. These include Shakespeare, the Bible, and the first novel.
The ultimately disastrous wedding feast ends with its guests killing one another in a series of pitched battles, after one guest tried to abduct the bride.
Far from continuing to paint ‘modern history’, he embarked on major projects for religious paintings, some of which are superb.
Greek and Trojan forces join battle, with casualties on both sides. Two stories, one of a defeated warrior changing into a swan, the other of a woman changing into a man.
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