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The Sacrifice of Polyxena

Not on view
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.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: 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
  • Object Number: 54.166
  • Curatorial Department: European Paintings

More Artwork

More Artwork
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Death of Dido, Giovanni Francesco Romanelli Italian, Pen and brown ink, brush with gray wash, over charcoal (?) on light tan paper (recto); Ruled framing outlines in red chalk, black chalk scribbles (verso), framing outlines in pen and brown ink
Death of Dido
Giovanni Francesco Romanelli
1620–1640
One Half of a Design for a Frame of a Stage Proscenium, with a Figure of Justice at the Right, and the Barberini Arms in a Cartouche at the Top, Giovanni Francesco Romanelli Italian, Graphite or black chalk on cream laid paper
One Half of a Design for a Frame of a Stage Proscenium, with a Figure of Justice at the Right, and the Barberini Arms in a Cartouche at the Top
Giovanni Francesco Romanelli
18th century
Five Music-Making Figures, Giovanni Francesco Romanelli Italian, Pen and brown ink, brush and blue wash
Five Music-Making Figures
Giovanni Francesco Romanelli
1610–62
Six Music-Making Figures, Giovanni Francesco Romanelli Italian, Pen and brown ink, brush and blue wash
Six Music-Making Figures
Giovanni Francesco Romanelli
1610–62
Aeneas and the Cumaean Sibyl Entering the Infernal Regions, Giovanni Francesco Romanelli Italian, Pen and brown ink, brush and blue wash, highlighted with white, over black chalk, on blue-gray paper
Aeneas and the Cumaean Sibyl Entering the Infernal Regions
Giovanni Francesco Romanelli
1610–62

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