Copied from an engraving produced by Jacopo Caraglio, this etching by an unknown artist depicts the Trojan hero, Aeneas, carrying his father, Anchises, upon his back. Walking beside them is Ascanius, the young son of Aeneas, who carries a small lantern between his hands.
The scene is taken from the events surrounding the fall of Troy. As is detailed in Virgil’s epic poem the Aeneid, whilst Troy was being destroyed by the Achaeans in a brutal massacre, Aeneas managed to escape the carnage, carrying his elderly father upon his back, and with his young son close in tow. The etching captures both the strength of Aeneas and the fragility of Anchises.
Caraglio appears have been greatly inspired by Raphael’s The Fire in the Borgo, a fresco in the Stanza dell’incendio del Borgo, in the Vatican. His figures are essentially reversed copies of those featured in the lower left corner of Raphael’s fresco, with only a few minor differences.