The Battle of the Amazons

This dramatic historical painting, teeming with figures, depicts the devastating battle for the city of Troy. According to Homer, the Amazons with their queen Penthesilea came to the aid of the Trojan king Priamos, who had to defend himself against the Greeks under the leadership of king Menelaus. In the battle, Penthesilea is killed by Achilles, who falls in love with her when removing the dying woman's helmet. The beautiful Amazon can be seen in Feuerbach's picture in the middle of the foreground, with bare chest and precious arm decoration and headdress. In contrast to traditional representations of the historic battle, artist Anselm Feuerbach puts the fallen and dead, rather than the heroes, at the centre of the action. With its message reminding us of the intractability of violence, the monumental painting is as relevant today as ever. In Feuerbach's opinion the "Battle of the Amazons" is one of his most important works. Adolf Hitler also saw something special in the picture, he felt it was the ideal embodiment of the German strongman. In1936, he personally instructed the transfer of this monumental representation from the municipal art collections into the foyer of the Nuremberg Opera. Since 1995 the painting is displayed in the permanent collection of the Germanisches Nationalmuseum.