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The Sons of Artaxerxes, King of the Persians, Killed for Conspiring Against Their Father

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

In the foreground, henchmen of Artaxerxes, king of Persia, execute the king's sons, along with their wives and children, for plotting against him. In the background stands Artalia, one of the king's concubines, wearing a red dress. Artaxerxes' favorite son Darius fell in love with her, but the king objected to his son's attachment and gave Artalia to the temple of Apollo, where she became a priestess and took a vow of chastity. In revenge, Darius plotted against the king with fifty of his brothers. Like many stories found in Boccaccio's book of moral tales, this one presents a woman as the cause of men's misfortune.

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