Jan Andrea Lievens - The Death of Pyramus - image-1

Lot 1083 Dα

Jan Andrea Lievens - The Death of Pyramus

Auction 1087 - overview Cologne
20.05.2017, 11:00 - Old Master Paintings and Drawings, Sculpture
Estimate: 12.000 € - 14.000 €

Jan Andrea Lievens

The Death of Pyramus

Oil on panel. 66 x 51 cm.

The tragic tale of Pyramus and Thisbe, which is recounted in Ovid's Metamorphoses, is here emblematically condensed to a single-figure piece. When Pyramus discovered the blood-stained veil of his beloved Thisbe, he believed her to have been killed by a lion and turned his sword upon himself. When Thisbe later found the body of Pyramus, she too killed herself with the same weapon.
This work is registered with the RKD in The Hague (no. 1001194190). It was painted by Jan Andrea Lievens, son of the eponymous painter from Leiden. The brushwork, monumental design of the figure, and the vivid colour palette all testify to the influence of the Flemish school.