#and why there are oddly similar paintings of such a minor scene as nestor receiving his reward at the funeral games | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

ilions-end · 2 months ago

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i've seen the term "prix de rome" pop up in descriptions of several artworks i've reblogged here. apparently it was a prestige competition where artists competed in making the best depiction of a specific motif for that year (mostly taken from mythology or ancient history). what i DESPERATELY need is a table overview of each year's subject and participiants (not just winners!!), which the internet is NOT giving me

anyway here are the epic cycle-related motifs i've managed to find traces of so far:

(some years show two subjects, i'm guessing this is either a mistake in my sources, or the painting, sculpture and composing-competitions were working off different motifs)

1717: aphrodite asking hephaestus for armour for aeneas

1769: achilles placing the body of hector before the body of patroclus

1771: the battle between athena and ares

1801: achilles receiving agamemnon's envoys

1803: aeneas' flight from troy

1809: priam at achilles' feet

1810: the wrath of achilles

1812: odysseus and telemachus slaying the suitors

1815: briseis mourning patroclus

1816: oenone refusing to heal paris, OR odysseus and neoptolemus finding philoctetes

1817: helen saved by castor and polydeuces

1820: achilles rewarding nestor the prize for wisdom at the funeral games

1822: orestes and pylades

1823: aegisthus discovering the body of clytemnestra

1825: antigone burying polynices

1831: achilles pursued by xanthus

1843: oedipus exiled from thebes

1845: odysseus and nausicaa

1849: odysseus recognized by eurycleia

1850: the death of achilles

1852: philoctetes on lemnos

1854: hector and astyanax

1859: aeneas in latium

1860: orestes resting at the altar of athena

1861: the death of priam / the fall of troy, OR chryseis reunited with her father

1866: thetis delivering the divine armour to achilles

1868: the death of astyanax

1871: oedipus and the corpses of his wife and sons

1875: clytemnestra (just. clytemnestra?)

1876: priam at the feet of achilles AGAIN

1880: odysseus and telemachus reunited

1881: the wrath of achilles AGAIN

1883: oedipus cursing polynices

1888: odysseus and nausicaa AGAIN

1912: oedipus finding his dead sons

1934: odysseus and calypso

#SUDDENLY THINGS MAKE MORE SENSE #like here they are! the neoclassical lot's favourite and standardized motifs #THIS is why i'll find multiple paintings of a specific scene that seem even MORE aesthetically conforming than usual!#and why there are oddly similar paintings of such a minor scene as nestor receiving his reward at the funeral games #how many competitors where there each year?? WHO KNOWS #but now at least i can look for these specific paintings in a more methodical way #i'm EXTREMELY intrigued by 1868. i've only seen the winner of that year but i need to find more

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