The Sacrifice of Polyxena

Giovanni Francesco Romanelli was a pupil of Pietro da Cortona who became one of the most important Italian painters working in France, decorating rooms in the Louvre and the Mazarin Palace during the 1640s and 1650s. This Sacrifice of Polyxena from 1630 depicts the tragic scene from the Trojan cycle where the Greek warriors sacrifice the Trojan princess on Achilles' tomb. Romanelli's French sojourn profoundly influenced the development of French Baroque painting.

The oil on canvas demonstrates Romanelli's classicizing style with clear composition and luminous coloring derived from Cortona. The dramatic sacrifice scene is rendered with the restrained grandeur that would appeal to French academic taste.