1918.1
Hector Chiding Paris
Artist
John Flaxman
(York, England, 1755 - 1826, London, England)
Title
Hector Chiding Paris
Creation Date
1792-1793
Century
18th century
Dimensions
8 3/8 in. x 12 1/8 in. (21.27 cm. x 30.8 cm.)
Object Type
drawing
Creation Place
Europe, United Kingdom
Medium and Support
pen and grey ink, brush and black ink over graphite on wove paper
Credit Line
Museum Purchase, Classical Fund
Copyright
Public Domain
Accession Number
1918.1
This drawing by the English Neoclassical sculptor and illustrator John Flaxman conjures a scene from Homer’s “Iliad”, the first book the artist illustrated to great acclaim. (His later projects included Dante’s “Divine Comedy,” and Aeschylus.) Commissioned by Mrs. Hare-Naylor in 1792 or 1793 and created in Rome, Flaxman’s drawing for the “Iliad” shows the Trojan leader Hector chastising Paris for defending Troy haphazardly. Flaxman used this drawing as a preparatory study for the published engraving of the encounter. The final work is simplified even further, as it drops Helen’s maids and presents the nude, effeminate Paris resting on a bow, his head lowered in shame. Flaxman’s drawings of classical scenes and his designs for Josiah Wedgwood’s ceramic wares sparked a craze throughout Europe for his silhouetted figures, which Flaxman had developed from engravings of Greek vases.