Museo de Arte de Ponce. The Luis A. Ferré Foundation, Inc.

King Candaules

Artist Jean-Léon Gérôme (French, 1824 - 1904)

Date1859

Object number63.0353

Mediumoil on canvas

Dimensions26 3/8 × 39 3/8 in. (67 × 100 cm)
frame: 40 1/2 × 53 7/8 × 4 1/4 in. (102.9 × 136.8 × 10.8 cm)

ClassificationsPainting

Credit LineMuseo de Arte de Ponce. The Luis A. Ferré Foundation, Inc.

Collections

19th Century Art

On View

Not on view

DescriptionThis imaginary Ancient Greek interior, with accurate architectural details and period objects, provides the background for a tale from Herodotus's Histories. King Candaules invited his guard to peep as the Queen disrobed before going to bed. Discovering this, the following day she gave the intruder the choice of either killing himself or murdering the King. Gerôme captures the crucial moment when, in the shadows of the bedchamber, the Queen sees the guard coming in to fulfill his mission.

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