The Death of Priam, ca. 1760

About the Work

The elongated horizontal format suggests that both paintings originally decorated for the spaces above doors. Their subjects are taken from the Aeneid, which was written by the Roman poet Virgil as a “sequel” to Homer’s Iliad. Aeneas originally came from Troy. When the fate of that city was already sealed, he witnessed the murder of the aged king Priam. Fearing for the life of his own father, he saved him from the burning city. After a tortuous journey he was given a friendly welcome by King Latinus in Italy, where he became the progenitor of the Romans.