Midas, King of Phrygia

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Midas, King of Phrygia

Creator

Nicolas Mignard (Mignard d'Avignon)

French Artist · 1606–1668

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After studying painting with a local master in Troyes, France, Nicholas Mignard traveled to Fontainebleau to copy the chateau's Mannerist frescoes, which influenced his early paintings. He painted his first recorded work in a Provence convent in 1633. Two years later, he traveled to Rome with the Cardinal Archbishop of Lyon. There for another two years, Mignard probably stayed at the Palazzo Farne

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Date: about 1655
Medium: Black chalk with traces of white chalk, squared in black chalk
Culture: French
Department: Drawings
Institution: Getty Museum

Using black chalk, Nicholas Mignard modeled the solid proportions of this figure and the sculptural qualities of his garments, adding discrete touches of white chalk for highlights. He made this squared drawing of the vain, imperious-looking monarch as a preparatory study for the figure of Midas in a painting. According to Greek and Roman legend, King Midas was known for his greed and his foolishness.

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