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The Sacrifice of Iphigenia

Giovanni Battista Crosatoc. 1750

Palazzo Madama

Palazzo Madama
Torino, Italy

Iphigenia was the eldest daughter of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra. When the Achaean ships were about to set sail from Aulis for Troy and a propitiatory victim was needed for the departure, the sooth-sayer Calchas chose her; With the pretext of a wedding with Achilles, Iphigenia was lured to sacrifice. The gods were moved with pity and transformed her into the goddess Hecate. The sketch for the cur-tain shows the same mythological subject as the ceiling of the Stupinigi residence, which was painted by the same artist, but given a lighter rendering by the pastel colours and the addition of rococo motifs such as the puttini and Diana’s chariot. Crosato started work as a stage designer at the Teatro Regio during his first stay in Turin in 1730-1731. His sketch for the curtain at Teatro Regio may have replaced the previous one for the 1749-1750 season.

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  • Title: The Sacrifice of Iphigenia
  • Creator: Giovanni Battista Crosato
  • Creator Lifespan: c. 1697 - 1758
  • Creator Nationality: Italian
  • Creator Gender: Male
  • Creator Death Place: Venice
  • Date: c. 1750
  • Physical Dimensions: w88,5 x h84 cm
  • Date of acquisition: 1899
  • Acquisition: Purchase
  • Provenance: Museo Civico d'Arte Antica - Palazzo Madama, Turin
  • Type: Paintings
  • Rights: http://www.palazzomadamatorino.it/copyright.php
  • External Link: Museo Civico d'Arte Antica - Palazzo Madama, Turin
  • Medium: Tempera on canvas
Palazzo Madama

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