1588
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
Aeneas Saving Anchises at the Fall of Troy is a 1588 by Federico Barocci, a Renaissance work, held at Cleveland Museum of Art.
A man carries his father through a burning city, a small boy clinging to his hand. Behind them, a woman reaches out but can’t keep up. The scene is crowded with smoke, falling statues, and panicked faces. Barocci painted this moment from an old Roman story—Virgil’s *Aeneid*—where a hero flees Troy with his family. The twist? The wife, Creusa, is already lost, though she doesn’t know it yet. The artist shows her one step behind, her fate sealed. Look up *chiaroscuro* to see how Barocci used light and shadow to make the chaos feel real.
In book two of Virgil's epic poem The Aeneid (29-19 BC), the Trojan hero Aeneas escapes from the burning city of Troy and its Greek invaders with his family. Here the artist shows them making their way through a classical corridor. Aeneas carries his elderly father, Anchises, entrusted with holding their household gods. Aeneas holds the hand of his son, Ascanius, and his wife Creusa follows behind. Creusa's separation from the group alludes to her fate: she will fall behind and not survive their flight. Quick sketches on the right border of the sheet show Barocci practicing the balancing pose…
This drawing may have been once owned by the painter Peter Paul Rubens (1577–1640).
Read the full account in the museum source.
Federico Barocci (also written Barozzi) (c. 1535 – 30 September 1612) was an Italian Renaissance painter and printmaker. His original name was Federico Fiori, and he was nicknamed Il Baroccio. His work was highly…
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