Coresus Sacrificing Himself To Save Callirhoe
1765
Forget the playful swings and flirtatious glances Fragonard is usually famous for—this is Rococo drama at its most intense! The scene depicts a tragic ancient Greek soap opera: the high priest Coresus was ordered by an oracle to sacrifice the beautiful maiden Callirhoe to appease an angry god. Unable to kill the woman he secretly loved, he dramatically turns the blade on himself instead. You can see Callirhoe swooning in the foreground, overwhelmed by the sheer emotion of the moment, while the priest looks up in a frenzy of divine inspiration. It was Fragonard's big attempt to be taken seriously as a history painter, proving he could do tragedy just as well as he did romance.
- Technique
- Oil on canvas
Location: Louvre Museum, Paris