Panthea, Cyrus, and Araspas
1632
oil
canvas
From the collection of Art Institute of Chicago
1632
oil
canvas
From the collection of Art Institute of Chicago
Panthea, Cyrus, and Araspas is a 1632 oil by Laurent de La Hyre, a Baroque work, held at Art Institute of Chicago.
You see three men in a tent: one in blue armor, one in red, and one kneeling in shadow. This painting tells a story from ancient Persia. Cyrus, the king in blue, won’t even look at the captured queen Panthea—he’s too busy ruling. But his friend Araspas, in red, can’t help falling for her. The quiet moment here is just before the trouble starts. To see how other artists painted dramatic scenes like this, look up *chiaroscuro*—the way light and dark create tension.
This is one of two surviving paintings from Laurent de La Hyre’s series illustrating the story of Queen Panthea’s capture by the armies of Cyrus the Great, the ancient king of Persia. Cyrus, shown here in blue, refused even to gaze upon the beautiful queen, choosing instead to concentrate on affairs of state and turning her care over to his friend Araspas, who ultimately fell in love with her to tragic consequences. La Hyre’s take on this tale of the conflict between love and civic duty was probably made as part of a suite of decorations for a reception room or a private cabinet in a Parisian…
Art market, Germany [according to Paris 1982, no. 31]. Sold at a public sale, Milan, to Ettore Viancini, Venice [letter of August 24, 1976 from Pierre Rosenberg to Patrice Marandel and note of conversation of Susan Wise with Patrice Marandel in curatorial file]; sold by Viancini to Gilberto Algranti, Milan and London [according to letter and note cited above]; sold by Algranti to Silvano Lodi, Campione d’Italia, and Bruno Meissner, Zurich, 1973 [according to letter and note cited above], passed solely into Meissner’s possession [letter from Bruno Meissner to Susan Wise dated May, 1981 in…
Paris, Galeries Nationales du Grand Palais, La Peinture française du XVIIe siècle dans les collections américaines, 1982, cat. 31. Musée de Grenoble, Laurent de La Hyre, 1606–1656: L’Homme et l’oeuvre, June 13-April 3, 1989, cat. 104; Rennes, France, Musée des Beaux-Arts et d' Archéologie, May 9-August 31, 1989; Bordeaux, Musée des Beaux-Arts, October 6, 1989-January 6, 1990 [Grenoble only]. Chicago, David and Alfred Smart Museum of Art, University of Chicago, The Theartical Baroque, 2001, cat. 180.
Read the full account in the museum source.
Laurent de La Hyre (French pronunciation: ; 27 February 1606 – 28 December 1656) was a French Baroque painter, born in Paris. He was a leading exponent of the neoclassical style of Parisian Atticism.
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