-
Aeneas before Dido, and Venus Supplicating Jupiter
Thornhill, James - Enlarge image
Aeneas before Dido, and Venus Supplicating Jupiter
- Object:
Oil painting
- Place of origin:
Great Britain, UK (made)
- Date:
ca. 1720 (made)
- Artist/Maker:
Thornhill, James (Sir), born 1675 - died 1734 (painter (artist))
- Materials and Techniques:
oil on canvas
- Museum number:
P.2-1947
- Gallery location:
British Galleries, room 54b, case WN
Object Type
By 1700 wall paintings were replacing tapestry as a cheaper yet more fashionable decoration for grand halls, staircases and ceilings. Noble or rich families commissioned artists, often from France, Holland and Italy, to decorate their homes with mythological, patriotic or allegorical scenes. These became a sure indicator of wealth and status, as well as demonstrating the owner's learning, allegiance and sophisticated taste. Sketches such as this would have been offered for approval to the client before work began.
People
Sir James Thornhill painted numerous decorations for private patrons as well as public commissions. Between 1715 and 1725 he undertook for James Brydges, Ist Duke of Chandos, some of the decorations at Cannons, his magnificent home near Edgware in Middlesex. The palace was pulled down and the murals destroyed around 1750 after the fraudulent speculations of the South Sea Bubble bankrupted the Duke.
Subjects Depicted
This design, depicting Aeneas before Dido with the gods of Olympus, was probably intended for the staircase at Cannons. The subject is taken from Virgil's poem the Aeneid, written in the 1st century BC. It celebrated the legendary foundation of the Roman state by the descendants of Aeneas who had escaped from the destruction of Troy.
