Farewell of Hector and Andromache | |
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Artist | Anton Losenko |
Year | 1773 |
Medium | Oil on canvas |
Dimensions | 156,3 cm × 212,5 cm (615 in × 837 in) |
Location | State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow |
Farewell of Hector to Andromache is a painting by the Russian artist Anton Losenko (1737–1773), painted in 1773. The painting is held in the State Tretyakov Gallery (Inventory No. 5814). The dimensions of the canvas are 156.3 × 212.5 cm.[1][2][3] The subject of the painting is linked to the account of the Trojan War as described in the Iliad, namely the farewell of Hector, the commander-in-chief of the Trojans, with his wife Andromache and their son Astyanax.[4] The artist combines the theme of farewell to the family of the Trojan hero going to battle with the Greeks with the theme of patriotic exploits and civic duty.[5]
The canvas was created at the behest of Empress Catherine II.[4] Some elements of the painting remained unfinished due to the artist's death at the age of 36, caused by hydrops.[6] Following Losenko's passing, his students adopted the distinctive construction of the painting Farewell of Hector and Andromache and subsequently "developed [it] into an unwritten system of compositional thinking that influenced the subsequent history of Russian historical painting."[7] For half a century, the canvas was regarded as "the standard of historical classicist painting" in Russian painting.[8][9]
Art historian Avraham Kaganovich described the painting Farewell of Hector and Andromache as a mature work that exemplifies the artist's "high professional abilities as a composer, draughtsman and painter". In the opinion of art historian Nonna Yakovleva, the painting Farewell of Hector and Andromache can serve as "an ideal textbook illustrating the compositional, colouristic and ideological principles of classicism" even in the 21st century.[10]