Pietro Testa, 1611 – 1650, nach

AGAMEMNON, KING OF MYCENAE, SACRIFICES HIS DAUGHTER IPHIGENIA TO DIANA IN ORDER TO RECONCILE WITH THE GODDESS. Oil on canvas. Doubled. 87 x 121 cm. In ebonized profile frame. After the painting in the Galleria Spada in Rome (inv. no. 312) and after the etching by Pietro Testa which was published by Giovanni Giacomo da Rossi. The Mycenaean king Agamemnon was chosen together with his brother Menelaus - the injured husband of Helen - to lead the Greeks in the war against Troy. However, unfavorable winds prevented the ships, which can be seen here on the shore, from setting sail. After consulting a seer, the soldiers learned that Agamemnon had offended Diana by killing a hind sacred to the goddess. The goddess could only be appeased by sacrificing his daughter Iphigenia. The girl was lured out of the house under the pretext of a false promise of marriage to Achilles. Achilles was angered that his name had been used to deceive her and offered to fight on her behalf. Although the girl heroically agreed to the sacrifice, the goddess took pity on her: she shrouded the site, replaced it with a stag and carried Iphigenia away. (14008516) (13)