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Cyrus, the Grandson of Astyages, King of the Medes, Given Suck by a Wild Animal

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

According to legend, Astyages, the king of the Medes, had a dream one night that one of his descendents would grow up to overthrow him. He immediately ordered that his precocious grandson Cyrus be killed. His chief adviser, however, secretly gave the baby to a shepherd to raise. Here the shepherd minds his sheep, while the child Cyrus takes nourishment from a wild goat in order to survive. Astyages discovered Cyrus when he reached the age of ten, but others persuaded Astyages to allow the boy to live, in spite of the dream. Cyrus eventually did revolt against his grandfather and conquered the kingdom in 550 B.C.

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