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| The Sacrifice of Polyxena |
Artist:Giovanni Francesco Romanelli (Italian, Viterbo ca. 1610–1662 Viterbo)
Medium:Oil on canvas
Dimensions:77 3/4 x 88 in. (197.5 x 223.5 cm)
Classification:Paintings
Credit Line:Rogers Fund, 1954
Polyxena was the youngest daughter of Priam, King of Troy. According to a Greek tragedy by Euripides (ca. 480–406 B.C.), she was sacrificed on an altar over the grave of Achilles, whose death she had caused. Romanelli was a prominent painter in Rome and one of the most successful pupils of Pietro da Cortona. This painting is part of a series of classically inspired canvases depicting Ulysses, Cleopatra, Venus, and Polyxena. They were created for Lorenzo Chigi, Marquess of Montoro. The other pictures from the group are now in the Chrysler Museum, Norfolk, Virginia; the Cassa di Risparmio, Viterbo; and the Palazzo Patrizi, Rome.
Provenance
Lorenzo Chigi Montoro, Viterbo (until d. 1697; inv., 1697); Giovanni Chigi Montoro, Palazzo Chigi, Rome (until d. 1771); his widow, Virginia Patrizi, or his daughter, Porzia Patrizi Naro Montoro, Rome (1771–at least 1776; inv., 1776); [Marcus-Galerie LePeletier, Paris, until 1953; as "The Sacrifice of Iphigenia"; sold for $229 to Kleinberger]; [Kleinberger, New York, 1953–54; sold to MMA]
Copyright Image
https://images.metmuseum.org
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