King Candaules of Lydia Showing His Wife to Gyges
Artist
Jacques Stella
(French, 1596-1657, active in Lyon)
Date1640s
CultureFrench
MediumOil on canvas
ClassificationPaintings
Credit LineBequest of John Ringling, 1936
Object numberSN384
Stella trained in Rome before returning to his native Lyon in 1634. He later moved to Paris, where he became 'Peintre du Roi' to King Louis XIII. This small picture illustrates a scene from 'The Histories' of Herodotus, in which Candaules, the 7th-century B.C. Lydian king, intentionally exposed his naked wife, Queen Nyssia, to his hesitant servant, Gyges. Upon learning of the plot, the enraged Nyssia enlisted Gyges to kill her husband. The servant obliged, avenging the queen's honor. Gyges eventually married Nyssia and became King of Lydia.
On View
On viewLocation
DimensionsImage: 33 x 26 3/4 in. (83.8 x 67.9 cm)- Museum of Art, Gallery 07
Frame: 43 × 37 1/8 in. (109.2 × 94.3 cm)
Guercino (Giovanni Francesco Barbieri)
after 1655
