Achille trascina il corpo di Ettore (Achilles dragging the body of Hector around the wall of Troy), c. 1648
Pietro Testaexpand_more
Etching with pen and ink additionsexpand_more
Gift of James A. Bergquist, Boston, in honor of Rachel McGarryexpand_more 2021.69.26
Not on Viewexpand_more
Homer's Illiad inspired this harrowing scene. Achilles avenged the death of his friend Patroclus by killing Hector and then tied the body to a chariot and dragged it around the walls fo Troy. Pietro Testa borrowed ancient monuments of Rome (the Colosseum, the Torre delle Milizei, and the Pantheon) for his backdrop. On the parapet above the arched gate, Hector's wife, Andromache, faints, and other bystanders seems anquished as well. Nevertheless, Fame crowns Achilles with a laurel wreath.
Pietro Testa developed his own classicizing vocabulary, but the nudity that he adopted from antique sculptures did not completely appeal to a previous owner of this print. Someone has used a pen to add fig leaves to cover the genitals of Achilles and Hector and the breast of Fame.
Details
- Title
- Achille trascina il corpo di Ettore (Achilles dragging the body of Hector around the wall of Troy)
- Artist Life
- (Lucca), 1612–1650
- Role
- Artist
- Accession Number
- 2021.69.26
- Catalogue Raisonne
- Bartsch XX.221.22 Nagler Kunstlerlexikon 22 LeBlanc 21 Bellini 37 I/IV Illustrated Bartshc/Bellini .022, II/VI Cropper 121 I/IV
- Curator Approved
This record is from historic documentation and may not have been reviewed by a curator, so may be inaccurate or incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. If you notice a mistake or have additional information about this object, please email collectionsdata@artsmia.org.
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