The Abduction of Helen is an

Italian Renaissance The Italian Renaissance ( it, Rinascimento ) was a period in Italian history covering the 15th and 16th centuries. The period is known for the initial development of the broader Renaissance culture that spread across Europe and marked the trans ...

mythological Myth is a folklore genre consisting of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society, such as foundational tales or origin myths. Since "myth" is widely used to imply that a story is not objectively true, the identification of a narrat ...

painting by

Girolamo Genga Girolamo Genga (c. 1476 – 11 July 1551) was an Italian painter and architect of the late Renaissance, Mannerist style. Life and career Genga was born in a region near Urbino. According mainly to Giorgio Vasari's biography, by age thirtee ...

. The painting was bought in 1898 in Rome by

Wilhelm von Bode Wilhelm von Bode (10 December 1845 – 1 March 1929) was a German art historian and museum curator. Born Arnold Wilhelm Bode in Calvörde, he was ennobled in 1913. He was the creator and first curator of the Kaiser Friedrich Museum, now calle ...

for its present location, the Musée des Beaux-Arts of

Strasbourg Strasbourg (, , ; german: Straßburg ; gsw, label=Bas Rhin Alsatian, Strossburi , gsw, label=Haut Rhin Alsatian, Strossburig ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est region of eastern France and the official seat of the Eu ...

, France. Its inventory number is 490. The painting comes from the palace of

Pandolfo Petrucci Pandolfo Petrucci (14 February 1452 – 21 May 1512) was a ruler of the Italian Republic of Siena during the Renaissance. Biography Born and raised in Siena, a member of an aristocratic family, Petrucci was exiled from his home in 1483 for bei ...

Siena Siena ( , ; lat, Sena Iulia) is a city in Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the province of Siena. The city is historically linked to commercial and banking activities, having been a major banking center until the 13th and 14th centuri ...

, which had been decorated in the years 1508 to 1512 with frescoes and paintings by

Pinturicchio Pinturicchio, or Pintoricchio (, ; born Bernardino di Betto; 1454–1513), also known as Benetto di Biagio or Sordicchio, was an Italian painter during the Renaissance. He acquired his nickname (meaning "little painter") because of his smal ...

Luca Signorelli Luca Signorelli ( – 16 October 1523) was an Italian Renaissance painter from Cortona in Tuscany, who was noted in particular for his ability as a draftsman and his use of foreshortening. His massive frescos of the ''Last Judgment'' (1499–15 ...

Domenico Beccafumi Domenico di Pace Beccafumi (1486May 18, 1551) was an Italian Renaissance-Mannerist painter active predominantly in Siena. He is considered one of the last undiluted representatives of the Sienese school of painting. Biography Domenico was born ...

, and Genga. Measuring 156 × 186 cm (61 × 73 in), ''The Abduction of Helen'' is slightly larger than the other surviving works (125 × 135 cm, or 49 × 53 in) and had probably not hung in the same room, although the configuration of the palace's interiors, and the original locations of the artworks, are now lost and impossible to reconstruct. It is also the only

tempera painting Tempera (), also known as egg tempera, is a permanent, fast-drying painting medium consisting of colored pigments mixed with a water-soluble binder medium, usually glutinous material such as egg yolk. Tempera also refers to the paintings done ...

among the surviving works.

Helen of Troy Helen of Troy, Helen, Helena, (Ancient Greek: Ἑλένη ''Helénē'', ) also known as beautiful Helen, Helen of Argos, or Helen of Sparta, was a figure in Greek mythology said to have been the most beautiful woman in the world. She was believe ...

is depicted as being gently led away by prince Paris, while there is some turmoil among the ladies of her court. The temple in the background and center of the painting while the main action takes place in the foreground is reminiscent of a similar composition by Genga's master

Perugino Pietro Perugino (, ; – 1523), born Pietro Vannucci, was an Italian Renaissance painter of the Umbrian school, who developed some of the qualities that found classic expression in the High Renaissance. Raphael was his most famous pupil. Ear ...

, and by Genga's colleague

Raphael Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino, better known as Raphael (; or ; March 28 or April 6, 1483April 6, 1520), was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. List of works by Raphael, His work is admired for its clarity of form, ease of ...

, among others. Pietro Perugino cat66.jpg, ''Marriage of the Virgin'' by Perugino Raffaello - Spozalizio - Web Gallery of Art.jpg, ''Marriage of the Virgin'' by Raphael

References

Paintings in the collection of the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Strasbourg 1510 paintings Renaissance paintings Mythological paintings {{16C-painting-stub