René Boyvin after Léonard Thiry. 'Peleas killed by his daughters'. Plate 23 from Livre de la conqueste de la Toison d'Or. France, 1563.

Print. Livre de la Conqueste de la Toison d'or, engraving by René Boyvin after Léonard Thiry; Paris, France, 1563. 'Peleas killed by his daughters' (plate 23). One of them is stabbing him. The other two are running away. In the top left corner, Medea in her chariot. A night scene. The main picture is depicted within an ornate strapwork border incorporating a rich array of grotesque ornament. Unnumbered and signed on plate (monogram within image, bottom centre).

The strapwork border is in the style devised for the Palace at Fountainebleau, where Thiry worked as a painter under Rosso. The scene is from the Story of Jason and the golden fleece.
Robert Dumesnil, VIII. Nos. 7, 8, 13, 15-21 2nd state. Nos. 2, 23-25 3rd state. Nos. 1, 4, 9, 10 3rd state,with added shading. Nos. 7, 8, 20 have burin scratches since 1563 edition.

Plate from a series of twenty-six prints relating the myth of Jason and the Golden Fleece, engraved by René Boyvin after Léonard Thiry. Each scene is framed by an ornate border, reproducing the model created by Rosso Fiorentino in the Gallery of Francis I at Fontainebleau. Léonard Thiry, of Flemish origin, was one of Rosso's best aides, as his salary at Fontainebleau, and Vasari's comment on him suggest. The set was published in 1563, in Paris, in both Latin and French, and was preceded by a letterpress text: privilege, dedication to the King, and four pages on the story of Jason written by Jacques Gohory (1520-1576). In most editions, we also find quatrains by the same poet, printed in a cartouche, and used as a caption for each plate. Thanks to the privilege and dedication, we know that it was Jehan de Mauregard, an officer of the Crown, who had this set made to present to the young Charles IX.

The V&A keeps scattered prints of this set along with a complete album which is an impression of the Latin edition. See E.2454-1920 to 2479-1920, E.2019-1908 to 2028-1908, 26595 A to 26595 F and E.88A-1891 to E.88B-1891. All but one of the original drawings have survived. Twenty two are kept in Leiden (Library of the University) and the other three are in Paris (Ecole nationale superieure des Beaux-Arts).

Peleas’ daughters killed their father, chopped him up and put the pieces in a cauldron of water. But Medea never added the magical herbs and Peleas stayed dead. Peleas’ son, Acastus, drove Medea and Jason into exile for this crime and the couple settled in Corinth.

Plate for the book Liure de la Conqueste de la Toison d'or par le Prince Iason de Tessalie by Jacques Gohory.

The artist who designed this print worked as assistant to the Italian artist, Rosso Fiorentino, at the French royal palace of Fontainebleau. The most clebrated interior at Fontainebleau was the Galerie Francois I, named after the then king, which featured fresco paintings set into elaborate plaster frames. This black and white print translates this idea into a form which was both much more affordable and portable, and thus enabled the influence of Fontainebleau to travel right across Europe.

26595E