Locrian Ajax (Ajax Locrien), from "Les Images ou Tableaux de platte peinture des deux Philostrates Sophistes grecs..."

This illustration derives from an early-seventeenth-century French translation of a text composed in the third century AD by a father and son both answering to the name Philostrates. The text consists of the descriptions of murals with mythological scenes that decorated the walls of a palace in Naples. It is unclear whether the palace ever existed, but the text attracted great interest among humanists during the Renaissance period, in particular, for its ekphrastic qualities. The first French translation of the text was published in 1578, and was followed by three other editions, all unillustrated. In 1609, Abel L'Angelier requested a privilege for a new illustrated edition. Work on the plates took several years, and the book was published in 1514-1515 by L'Angelier's widow. Further editions of the illustrated book were published in 1629 and 1637. Several of the illustrations were based on designs by the painter Antoine Caron, who was one of the main protagonists of the Second School of Fontainebleau. Since he had passed away in 1599, it is unlikely that the painter was directly involved in the making of this book. He had, however, worked on other projects with the engravers Thomas de Leu and Leonard Gaultier, who may have played an intermediary role in the choice of illustrations for "Les Images". Together with the Flemish printmaker Jasper Isaac, they were the principle engravers involved in the translation of the ekphrastic images into print, although additional (unidentified) hands can be distinguished among the plates.