Art Institute of Chicago

Harpies Attacking Aeneas and His Companions

Domenico Gargiulo, called Micco Spadaro

Date

n.d.

Medium

Pen and iron gall ink on cream laid paper

Culture

Italy

Department

Prints and Drawings

Institution

Art Institute of Chicago

Sometimes called Micco Spadaro because his father was a sword smith, Domenico Gargiulo had a gestural style of drawing figures and excelled in historical subjects such as this scene from Virgil’s Aeneid . The epic poem about the founding of Rome follows the wanderings of Aeneas, an Odysseus-like character who escaped the destruction of Troy by the Greek army. Here altars of stolen sacrifices attract the attention of a swarm of fearsome harpies—half bird, half woman—who shriek for vengeance.

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