The Centaur Chiron and Achilles
around 1695/1700 | Giuseppe Maria Crespi, gen. Lo Spagnuolo
As a boy the Greek hero Achilles was entrusted to the wise Centaur Chiron – half human, half horse – for his education. The Centaur is teaching Achilles how to shoot a bow and arrow, while books and instruments connected with the study of astronomy and medical botany lie on the floor. Together with “Aeneas the Sibyl and Charon” (Inv. No. GG 306) this picture was part of the decorations in the state bedroom of Prince Eugene of Savoy in his winter palace in Vienna’s Himmelpfortgasse.
As a boy the Greek hero Achilles was entrusted to the wise Centaur Chiron – half human, half horse – for his education. The Centaur is teaching Achilles how to shoot a bow and arrow, while books and instruments connected with the study of astronomy and medical botany lie on the floor. Together with “Aeneas the Sibyl and Charon” (Inv. No. GG 306) this picture was part of the decorations in the state bedroom of Prince Eugene of Savoy in his winter palace in Vienna’s Himmelpfortgasse.
Artist:
Giuseppe Maria Crespi, gen. Lo Spagnuolo (1665 - 1747 Bologna) DNB
Time:
around 1695/1700
Object Name
Painting
Culture
Italian, Emilian
Material/technology:
Canvas
Dimensions:
126 x 124 cm
Framed: 152,5 cm x 151 cm x 9 cm
Copyright
Kunsthistorisches Museum, Gemäldegalerie
Invs.
Gemäldegalerie, 270
Provenance
Supraporte from the furnishings of the City Palace of Prince Eugene of Savoy in Vienna I (Parade Room); acquired 1736