Rinaldo and Armida

The scene represented is a famous episode from Torquato Tasso’s Jerusalem Delivered which has inspired many painters. Armida sprawls, almost naked, on the ground, while the hero, Rinaldo, hands her a mirror which echoes (or anticipates) the magical shield being brought to him by the two crusaders in the background. The sight of his own reflection in the shield will eventually rouse him from the spell cast by the sorceress and, as his companions had intended, he will return to his Christian duty as a soldier.