King Candaules
Artist
Jean-Léon Gérôme
(French, 1824 - 1904)
Date1859
Object number63.0353
Mediumoil on canvas
Dimensionsframe: 40 1/2 x 53 7/8 x 4 1/4 in. (102.9 x 136.8 x 10.8 cm)
26 1/4 x 39 1/2 in. (66.7 x 100.3 cm)
26 1/4 x 39 1/2 in. (66.7 x 100.3 cm)
ClassificationsPainting
Credit LineMuseo de Arte de Ponce. The Luis A. Ferré Foundation, Inc.
Collections
On View
Not on viewDescriptionKing Candaules is inspired by Théophile Gautier’s publication based on the legend that Herodotus narrated about the king of Lydia in Asia Minor. According to the legend, King Candaules was proud of the beauty of his wife, Rhodope (also known as Nyssia). However, he betrayed her by inviting his bodyguard Gyges to see her naked without her consent. The queen discovered the betrayal when she saw Gyges leave her bedroom. She offered the bodyguard two options: assassinate the king to take the throne and marry her, or die. Gyges chose the first option. Gérôme sets the scene in the realm of ancient Greece, incorporating architectural details and objects of the time. For the artist’s detractors, this work mocked history painting since it focused on the precision of details instead of the idealization of Rhodope’s beauty.
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