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Premium Michel CORNEILLE, known as the Elder (Orléans, 1601 - Paris,…
See original version (French)
Michel CORNEILLE, known as the Elder (Orléans, 1601 - Paris,…
See original version (French)
Lot no. 25
Description
Michel CORNEILLE, known as the Elder (Orléans, 1601 - Paris, 1664)
Zenobia, Queen of Palmyra
Oil on canvas
(Restorations)
Zenobia, queen of Palmyra, oil on canvas, by M. Corneille
58.86 x 29.53 in.
149.5 x 75 cm
Provenance: Galerie Eric Coatalem, Paris, in 2013
Queen Zenobia was a powerful woman of ancient history, a heroine who stood up to the Roman Empire, a conqueror and a free spirit. Seductive as the legend is, we can't say with complete historical accuracy who she really was, and have to make do with a mixture of sublimated accounts and fantasies.
The known episodes in Zenobia's life, taken mainly from the History of Augustus1, bear witness to an extraordinary personality. She was the wife of Odenath (220-267), who reigned over a large area of the Empire, covering Syria, Palestine and part of the Arabian Peninsula. She seized power after the assassination of her husband and challenged the Empire by extending her domination over new territories as strategic as Egypt, the precious granary. When Emperor Aurelian came to power in 270, this expansion came to an end. His troops were crushed in 273, and Zenobia was taken to Rome. During the emperor's triumph, she is said to have been bound with gold chains and her body covered with so many jewelled ornaments that she had difficulty standing in the middle of the procession.
Whether legend or reality, these fanciful tales sometimes bear little resemblance to scientific truth. In the 17th century, not only decorative cycles but also literature brought strong women to the fore. The decorations by Nicolas Prévost in the Queen's flat at the Château de Richelieu and those by Simon Vouet in the Palais Cardinal are among the most famous. We don't know where our painting, which shows the Queen in chains, was intended, but its format could be that of a window, in a room where the decor would be dedicated to the most excellent female figures.
1 - The History of Augustus, vol. IV 3, Vies des Trentes Tyrans et de Claude, CUF, Paris, 2011, p.177-196, edition with commentary by François Paschoud.
Michel CORNEILLE dit l'Ancien (Orléans, 1601 - Paris, 1664)
149.5 x 75 cm
See original version (French)
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