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Core Record |
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| Title | The Abduction of Helen | |
| Alternative Title | Figures in a Landscape | |
| Collection | Bowes Museum, Barnard Castle | |
| Artist | Attributed to after Reni, Guido (Italian painter and draftsman, 1575-1642) Attributed to Italian School |
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| Date Earliest | possibly about 1630 | |
| Date Latest | possibly about 1700 | |
| Description | This painting represents an episode from Greek history and literature. A soldier leads a young woman by the hand, observed by three women carrying bundles. The subject may have been taken from Homer's account of the story of Paris and Helen in the Iliad. Homeric themes were popular in Italian decorative cycles during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. This composition was possibly derived from Guido Reni's Abduction of Helen, in which violence and drama were replaced by a gentle gallantry. The unknown painter was probably Italian and may have been familiar with Reni's painting through prints. | |
| Current Accession Number | O.76 | |
| Former Accession Number | Douz.372 | |
| Subject | landscape; figure; literature (Homer, Iliad); mythology (Rape of Helen) | |
| Measurements | 72 x 75.5 cm (estimate) | |
| Material | oil on canvas | |
| Acquisition Details | Bequeathed by the founders John and Joséphine Bowes 1885. | |
| Notes | The treatment of the theme of the abduction of Helen in this painting recalls Guido Reni's composition for the series commissioned by the King of Spain Philip IV in 1626 (Louvre, inv. 539). | |
| Rights Owner | The Bowes Museum, Barnard Castle, Co. Durham | |
| Author | Dr Mercedes Cerón | |