Death of Hippolytos Gm-00043201

Carle Vernet (French, 1758–1836) In a balanced composition that controls the subject's violence, Carle Vernet captured the final dramatic moment of an ancient Greek tragedy. Within the scene's frozen motion, Hippolytos's dramatic yet rigid pose typifies the Neoclassical style. Nevertheless the artist emphasized his technical skill by contrasting the varied soft textures of the frothy clouds of sea spray, the horses' swirling manes and tails, and the leopard skin tied around Hippolytos's waist.

Hippolytos's stepmother Phaidra fell in love with him, but he rejected her affections. In revenge, she left a note accusing him of defiling her, and committed suicide. His enraged father Theseus banished Hippolytos and begged the gods to destroy him. As a result, the sight of a sea monster frightened the horses pulling Hippolytos in his chariot. Hippolytos lost control, and the horses dragged the hero to his death. Carle Vernet exhibited this drawing and its pendant, The Return from the Race,at the Salon of 1800, where they received wide acclaim. So popular were the scenes that another artist then produced engravings after them, which were exhibited at the Salon of 1808. The two drawings were auctioned in 1817, and did not reappear on the market until in the early 1990s.

Our Cards are all printed on 100% cotton tree-free archival paper. All Cards include a recycled kraft envelope in a protective sleeve individually hand wrapped for you. Each card is printed one at a time and hand bound here in Lugano, Switzerland. We ship all over the world via SwissPost. Please allow 5-9 business days for us to make them and 5-7 business days for transit. Art Prints are printed on heavy matte finish German art paper using the finest Canon archival inks. Frame is black natural with a white mattboard and Acrylite glazing.

Wall Murals are printed on 42" matte finish, self-adhesive Kodak PhotoText fabric panels that combine and mount easily on a non textured wall surface. We can custom make to any size, just ask.

Stretched Canvas is stretched by hand over 1.5" thick pine bars and printed on cotton poly matte finish canvas. Each canvas is hand coated with Hahnemuhle UV/Archive coating, these are Swiss quality best in industry canvases.

All our images are digitized from the original negative, printed and assembled in Switzerland to museum standards by our master printer.

All of our products are popular and custom made by hand to order, please allow 2-4 weeks to make them and 1-2 weeks for shipment anywhere in the world.

Questions? Please email service@archivea.com

Artwork in this collection is from The J. Paul Getty Museum. Reproduction rights are reserved by the copyright owner and used under license by Archivea GmbH.