René Boyvin (Artist), Leonard Thiry (After)

Medea obtains the dragon chariot by conjuring or Medea summons her dragon chariot

Medea obtains the dragon chariot by conjuring or Medea summons her dragon chariot by René Boyvin, Leonard Thiry

Artwork Detail

Heav'n hath no rage like love to hatred turned

No Hell a fury like a woman scorned...

William Congreve (The Mourning Bride. Act lll, sc. 8)

When jilted by Jason, Medea revenged herself first by murdering their two children, and then destroying his father and new wife. While one would have thought that this provided ample material for Renaissance artists to draw on, it was her sorcery which proved most popular, as earlier artists tended to use Ovid as a source, rather than Euripides' play, Medea. In Thiry and Boyvin's engraving she is shown harnessing her magic powers to summons her chariot, her character implied, perhaps, by the grotesque characters included in the printed frame. (Monsters and Maidens, 2004)

Title
Medea obtains the dragon chariot by conjuring or Medea summons her dragon chariot
Artist/creator
René Boyvin, Leonard Thiry
Production date
1563
Medium
engraving
Dimensions
160 x 233 mm
Credit line
Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, purchased 1974
Accession no
1974/14/1
Copyright
No known copyright restrictions
Department
International Art
Display status
Not on display

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