Ixion slaying Phorbas and Polymelus in revenge of his mother, Megara, who, having refused them as suitors, was killed by them

Artwork

Ixion slaying Phorbas and Polymelus in revenge of his mother, Megara, who, having refused them as suitors, was killed by them

1810

Artwork Information

Here Fuseli illustrates a little-known part of Ixion’s story which is only found in Anthologia Palatina III: 12, a text that the artist may have discovered while in Rome between 1770 and 1778. King of the Lapiths in Thessaly, Ixion is more famous in many mythologies as the first man to murder a relative, by pushing his father-in-law into a pit of burning coals.

Artist: Henry Fuseli
Title: Ixion slaying Phorbas and Polymelus in revenge of his mother, Megara, who, having refused them as suitors, was killed by them
Production Date: 1810
Medium: pen and black ink, with grey, pink and green wash
Dimensions: 254 x 196 mm
Credit Line: Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, purchased 1965
Accession No: 1965/59
Copyright: No known copyright restrictions
Department: International Art
Display Status: Not on display