Art Institute of Chicago

Panthea, Cyrus, and Araspas

Laurent de La Hyre (French, 1606-1656)LinkedCulture matchlcp-c9ecbd1379e2

Date: 1631-34
Medium: Oil on canvas
Culture: France
Department: Painting and Sculpture of Europe
Institution: Art Institute of Chicago
Object ID: 111418

From the Art Institute of Chicago record

This is one of two surviving paintings from Laurent de La Hyre’s series illustrating the story of Queen Panthea’s capture by the armies of Cyrus the Great, the ancient king of Persia. Cyrus, shown here in blue, refused even to gaze upon the beautiful queen, choosing instead to concentrate on affairs of state and turning her care over to his friend Araspas, who ultimately fell in love with her to tragic consequences. La Hyre’s take on this tale of the conflict between love and civic duty was probably made as part of a suite of decorations for a reception room or a private cabinet in a Parisian townhouse.

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Provenance & credit

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Credit line: Major Acquisitions Centennial Endowment
Provenance: Art market, Germany [according to Paris 1982, no. 31]. Sold at a public sale, Milan, to Ettore Viancini, Venice [letter of August 24, 1976 from Pierre Rosenberg to Patrice Marandel and note of conversation of Susan Wise with Patrice Marandel in curatorial file]; sold by Viancini to Gilberto Algranti, Milan and London [according to letter and note cited above]; sold by Algranti to Silvano Lodi, Campione d’Italia, and Bruno Meissner, Zurich, 1973 [according to letter and note cited above], passed solely into Meissner’s possession [letter from Bruno Meissner to Susan Wise dated May, 1981 in curatorial file]; sold by Meissner to Art Institute, 1976.

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Object type: AAT300033618

Part of a LinkedCulture topic

Ancient Greek Silver Tetradrachms
These objects are all tetradrachm coins, a standard ancient Greek silver denomination, depicting various deities and symbols from Greek city-states and territories across the Mediterranean.
333 objects from 3 institutions