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The Wounding of Pyrrhus

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

Pyrrhus, king of the ancient Greek territory of Epirus, collapses with a shoulder wound after a fierce battle against the Romans. In 281 B.C. he sailed to the aid of Tarentum, a Greek colony in southern Italy at war with Rome. As the text explains, the battlefield was located near a castle, which the artist depicted as a massive fortress. After Pyrrhus fled the skirmish due to his injury, his troops suffered from confusion and sustained great losses. Pyrrhus finally defeated the enemy but only at great cost to his army, leading to the expression "Pyrrhic victory" for a victory offset by staggering losses.

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