Ulla von Höpken´s sacrifice to Asclepius

In the summer of 1783 the Swedish king Gustav III traveled to Russia to visit his cousin Catherine the Great. During the trip, the king broke his arm after a fall from his horse. He became convalescence and the trip was canceled. Due to the misfortune of the king, Elias Martin painted this picture of Countess Ulla von Höpken when she along with her two children perform a sacrificial rite to the god of medicine Asclepius to speed up King Gustav’s recovery.