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Andromache and Astyanax

?1813–17; 1823–24?
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 634
Prud’hon—a principal representative of neoclassicism who developed this smoky, sfumato technique—began this painting for the former empress of France, Marie Louise. Still incomplete when he died, it was finished by one of his students. The subject of family devotion and its relationship to the state is taken from the French dramatist Racine: Andromache embraces her son, Astyanax, in whom she sees the features of her husband, who had been killed by Achilles. When mother and son become spoils of war, Achilles’s son, Pyrrhus, falls in with her; however, as Pyrrhus’s surprised gesture indicates, she rejects his advances in fidelity to her deceased husband.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Andromache and Astyanax
  • Artist: Pierre Paul Prud'hon (French, Cluny 1758–1823 Paris)
  • Artist: completed by Charles Pompée Le Boulanger de Boisfrémont (French, Rouen 1773–1838 Paris)
  • Date: ?1813–17; 1823–24?
  • Medium: Oil on canvas
  • Dimensions: 52 x 67 1/8 in. (132.1 x 170.5 cm)
  • Classification: Paintings
  • Credit Line: Bequest of Collis P. Huntington, 1900
  • Object Number: 25.110.14
  • Curatorial Department: European Paintings

More Artwork

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Charles Maurice de Talleyrand Périgord (1754–1838), Prince de Talleyrand, Pierre Paul Prud'hon French, Oil on canvas
Charles Maurice de Talleyrand Périgord (1754–1838), Prince de Talleyrand
Pierre Paul Prud'hon
1817
Ceramic Horn, Glazed pottery, French
Ceramic Horn
French
late 18th or early 19th century
The Spanish Singer, Edouard Manet French, Oil on canvas
The Spanish Singer
Edouard Manet
1860
The Death of Socrates, Jacques Louis David French, Oil on canvas
The Death of Socrates
Jacques Louis David
1787
Study for Cupid and Psyche, Pierre Paul Prud'hon French, Black and white chalk with some charcoal on papier bleuté (woven)
Study for Cupid and Psyche
Assistant or Pupil of Pierre Paul Prud'hon
1783–84

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