''Erasistratus Discovering the Cause of Antiochus' Disease'' () is a

1774 Events January–March * January 21 – Mustafa III, Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, dies and is succeeded by his brother Abdul Hamid I. * January 27 ** An angry crowd in Boston, Massachusetts seizes, tars, and feathers British customs ...

oil painting Oil painting is a painting method involving the procedure of painting with pigments combined with a drying oil as the Binder (material), binder. It has been the most common technique for artistic painting on canvas, wood panel, or oil on coppe ...

by French neoclassical artist

Jacques-Louis David Jacques-Louis David (; 30 August 1748 – 29 December 1825) was a French painter in the Neoclassicism, Neoclassical style, considered to be the preeminent painter of the era. In the 1780s, his cerebral brand of history painting marked a change in ...

. The work is a

history painting History painting is a genre in painting defined by its subject matter rather than any artistic style or specific period. History paintings depict a moment in a narrative story, most often (but not exclusively) Greek and Roman mythology and B ...

depicting an episode from

Plutarch Plutarch (; , ''Ploútarchos'', ; – 120s) was a Greek Middle Platonist philosopher, historian, biographer, essayist, and priest at the Temple of Apollo (Delphi), Temple of Apollo in Delphi. He is known primarily for his ''Parallel Lives'', ...

's ''

Lives Lives may refer to: * The plural form of a ''life'' * Lives, Iran, a village in Khuzestan Province, Iran * The number of lives in a video game * ''Parallel Lives'', aka ''Lives of the Noble Greeks and Romans'', a series of biographies of famous m ...

'' in which Greek court physician

Erasistratus Erasistratus (; ; c. 304 – c. 250 BC) was a Greek anatomist and royal physician under Seleucus I Nicator of Syria. Along with fellow physician Herophilus, he founded a school of anatomy in Alexandria, where they carried out anatomical research ...

diagnoses the illness of

Antiochus Antiochus (Ancient Greek: Ἀντίοχος) is a Greek male personal name, likely meaning "resolute in contention", or "unwavering". It is derived from the two words αντί ("against") and ὄχη ("support"). It was a dynastic name for rulers of ...

, the son of

Seleucus I Seleucus I Nicator (; Greek: Σέλευκος Νικάτωρ, ''Séleukos Nikátōr'', "Seleucus the Victorious"; ) was a Macedonian Greek general, officer and successor of Alexander the Great who went on to found the eponymous Seleucid Empire, ...

, as

lovesickness Lovesickness is an affliction that can produce negative feelings when deeply in love, during the absence of a loved one or when love is unrequited. The term "lovesickness" is rarely used in modern medicine and psychology, though new research ...

for his stepmother Stratonice. The painting was awarded the 1774 ''

Prix de Rome The Prix de Rome () or Grand Prix de Rome was a French scholarship for arts students, initially for painters and sculptors, that was established in 1663 during the reign of Louis XIV of France. Winners were awarded a bursary that allowed them t ...

'' by the

Académie royale de peinture et de sculpture The Académie royale de peinture et de sculpture (; ) was founded in 1648 in Paris, France. It was the premier art institution of France during the latter part of the Ancien Régime until it was abolished in 1793 during the French Revolution. I ...

Origin

Painting painted in 1774. After its presentation in the competition for the Prix de Rome, it was recovered by David and entrusted to Michel-Jean Sedaine. In the Sedaine family, the painting then passed into the collection of the Comte de Brissay, son-in-law of Sedaine. In 1860 the House of the Emperor acquired it for 3000 francs, and it was installed at the National School of Fine Arts. The painting was restored in 1860 and 1981.

The scene

Antiochus is bedridden, suffering from a sickly languor. His father, King Seleucus, is at the foot of the bed in the dark. To save his son, he called on the great physician Erasistratus. The latter is beside him, taking his pulse: his left hand on Antiochus' wrist. The doctor asked that the women of the palace present themselves, one by one, before Antiochus. When Stratonice's turn comes, the young prince's pulse quickens, Erasistratus then raises his right hand, index finger pointing to the "cause of the disease". Erasistratus convinced the king to give up the beautiful Stratonice to his son, and the prince recovers.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Erasistratus Discovering the Cause of Antiochus' Disease 1774 paintings Paintings by Jacques-Louis David Paintings based on works by Plutarch Paintings in the Beaux-Arts de Paris Fonds national d'art contemporain Neoclassical paintings Oil on canvas paintings

Origin

The scene

See also

References