Aquiles discovered among Licomedes' daughters

Between 1630 and 1635, Rubens produced a series dedicated to the "Life of Achilles" comprising a total of 8 pieces, to which a further 2 would later be added. It is not known who commissioned the work, nor the original location of the first tapestries.

The Cathedral Museum collection contains 5 pieces from the second series of woven pieces in the "Life of Achilles," which was created in the renowned Brussels workshop of Jan Räes. It is the only example of the series made there that can still be found in Spain.

One of the scenes in the series is "Achilles among the Daughters of Lycomedes." Thetis, wishing to to prevent Achilles from taking part in the Trojan War, had dressed him as a woman and hidden him on the island of Skyros, where he was living with the daughters of King Lycomedes. The scene depicts the moment when Achilles falls into a trap set by Odysseus and Diomedes, who appear conspiratorially on the right of the tapestry, dressed as merchants. To find Achilles, the two men present a basket of jewels and other female accoutrements, among which they have placed weapons to awaken Achilles's natural inclinations. Aware that he has been discovered, as he places a helmet on his head, he and his beloved Deidameia (the most beautiful of Lycomedes' daughters) look at each other in a highly dramatic scene.