The abduction of Deianira

Details

Pietro Liberi (Padua 1605-1687 Venice)
The abduction of Deianira
oil on canvas
43 x 39 3/8 in. (114.3 x 100 cm.)

Provenance

Ducs de La Trémoille et de Thouars, Château de Serrant, Loire; by descent to Prince de Mérode, Belgium.
Anonymous sale['an old princely collection']; Dorotheum, Vienna, 13 October 2010, lot 390.

Special Notice

All sold and unsold lots marked with a filled square in the catalogue that are not cleared from Christie’s by 5:00 pm on the day of the sale, and all sold and unsold lots not cleared from Christie’s by 5:00 pm on the fifth Friday following the sale, will be removed to the warehouse of ‘Cadogan Tate’. Please note that there will be no charge to purchasers who collect their lots within two weeks of this sale.

Lot Essay

The Abduction of Deianira is the climactic moment of the Legend of Hercules; Hercules saves his beautiful wife, Deianira, from the lust-driven kidnapping of the centaur Nessus, but before his death, Nessus tricks her into believing that his blood would ensure Hercules' true love forever, which will ultimately, inadvertently lead to the end of the hero’s career – not through death, but through Apotheosis, whereby Hercules joins the gods on Mount Olympus. The subject was a favourite of Baroque and later artists, inspiring Giambologna, Rubens, Guido Reni, Tiepolo amongst others.

We are grateful to Prof. Ugo Ruggeri for confirming the attribution on the basis of photographs.

More from Old Master & British Paintings

View All