Französischer Maler um 1700

VICTIM OF POLYXENA Oil on canvas. Doubled. 59 x 77 cm. In wide gold-mounted frame. Polyxena stands at the center of the painting. In Greek mythology, she is a Trojan princess. She is the daughter of Priam and Hecabe and the younger sister of Cassandra, Paris and Hector. Achilles fell in love with her during the Trojan War, but in vain, as she was a priestess of Athena and therefore had to remain a virgin. However, she was very fond of Achilles, even though he was one of Troy's enemies. She saw and admired him fighting from the walls of Troy. After his death and the fall of Troy, she became prey to the Greeks. On his departure from Troy, Achilles appeared to his son Neoptolemos (also known as Pyrrhus) in a dream and demanded that the Greeks sacrifice to him the most beautiful and best of all the spoils. They chose Polyxena and led her to Achilles' tomb. There she was sacrificed. You can see the figuratively decorated tomb and Neoptolemus ready to sacrifice Polyxena, next to a burning brazier, armored figures, mourning women and mighty architectural set pieces. The story is not to be found in the Illiad, but in two tragedies by Euripides and in a fragmentary tragedy by Sophocles. (1402142) (13)