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Achilles Restrained by Athena in Agamemnon's Tent, from Iliad, Book I

A work made of black chalk on cream laid paper.
CC0 Public Domain Designation

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  • A work made of black chalk on cream laid paper.

Date:

1765/66

Artist:

Johan Tobias Sergel
Swedish, 1740-1814

About this artwork

This drawing by Sweden’s most important Neoclassical sculptor and draftsman depicts a scene from Homer’s Iliad, set during the Trojan War. Chryses, a Trojan priest of Apollo, prays to Apollo for help after Agamemnon, the leader of the Greek army, has refused to return his kidnapped daughter. In response, Apollo inflicts a plague upon the Greeks. Agamemnon returns Chryses’s daughter, but demands Chryses’s second kidnapped daughter, who is held by Achilles, in exchange. Enraged, Achilles draws his sword on Agamemnon, at which point Athena intervenes, as seen in the drawing.

Status

Currently Off View

Department

Prints and Drawings

Artist

Johan Tobias Sergel

Title

Achilles Restrained by Athena in Agamemnon's Tent, from Iliad, Book I

Place

Sweden (Artist's nationality:)

Date  Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

Made 1765–1766

Medium

Black chalk on cream laid paper

Dimensions

43 × 34.7 cm (16 15/16 × 13 11/16 in.)

Credit Line

Gift of Richard and Mary L. Gray

Reference Number

2019.887

IIIF Manifest  The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world.

Learn more.

https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/241157/manifest.json

Extended information about this artwork

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

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