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The Massacre of the Sons of Lysimachus

Creator

French Illuminator · 1390–1430

In the early 1400s, the Boucicaut Master was the leading master of manuscript illumination in Paris and one of the most influential artists working in the International style in northern Europe. The Boucicaut Master appears to have supervised a talented team of artists who produced manuscripts commissioned by the king of France, high-ranking aristocrats, and the wealthy bourgeoisie. He probably al

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Date: about 1413–1415
Medium: Tempera colors, gold leaf, gold paint, and ink
Culture: French
Department: Manuscripts
Institution: Getty Museum
Object ID: 3c3b77ed-300b-44a6-b3e5-a18c55758d48

From the Getty Museum record

Two men drag the Macedonian queen Arsinoe by her hair from a Gothic city gate, before which lie the dead bodies of her sons. A politically powerful woman, Arsinoe's strength derived from familial ties, but family also caused her suffering. The daughter of Ptolemy, Arsinoe became queen of Macedonia by marrying Lysimachus, the Macedonian king. After Lysimachus's death, Arsinoe agreed to marry her own brother Ceramus, a military commander who wanted to rule as king. Before the ceremony, however, she had her two sons crowned instead. Pretending to accept the situation, Ceramus peacefully entered the city, then captured the castle, ordered his nephews slaughtered, and exiled his sister. Later, Arsinoe's fate turned yet again when she married her other brother, Philadelphus, and became queen of Egypt.

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