4x5 transparency scanned on Hasselblad Flextight X1 by Ed Pollard-2011.

The Discovery of Achilles Among the Daughters of Lycomedes

ArtistCircle of Francesco Primaticcio (Italian, 1504-1570)

CultureItalian

Dateca. 1560

MediumOil on panel

DimensionsOverall: 52 1/4 x 67 1/2 in. (132.7 x 171.5 cm)
Overall, Frame: 65 1/8 x 80 x 4 3/4 in. (165.4 x 203.2 x 12.1 cm)

Credit LineGift of Walter P. Chrysler, Jr.

Object number71.691

Collections

European Art before 1945

On View

On view

DescriptionA chaotic scene depicting the discovery of Achilles among the Daughter of Lycomedes.
Label TextCircle of Francesco Primaticcio Italian, 1504–1570 The Discovery of Achilles Among the Daughters of Lycomedes, ca. 1560 Oil on wood Where is Achilles in this jostling mass of figures? The very fact that the hero is hard to identify highlights a major feature of Mannerism, a style that rejected the order and clarity of High Renaissance art. Instead, this painting uses an unnatural palette of greys, pinks, and gold to create a busy arrangement of oddly posed and foreshortened figures. You may wonder which is more important here—Achilles and his story or the painter’s desire to showcase his own inventive style. If you’re still looking for the hero, he’s the one brandishing the sword in the left background. Gift of Walter P. Chrysler, Jr. 71.691 Exhibition History"Italy at the Court of France: Primaticcio, Master of Fontainebleau, 1504-1570," Louvre, Paris, France, September 25, 2004 - January 3, 2005; "Primaticcio: Un bolognese alla corte di Francia," Palazzo de Re Enzo e del Podestá, Bologna, Italy, January 30 - April 10, 2005. Published ReferencesVittoria Romani, _Primaticcio, Un bolognese alla corte di Francia_, exh. cat., Palazzo di Re Enzo e del Podestà, Bologna, Italy, 2005, 264-265, plate 98.