Harpies Attacking Aeneas and His Companions

Description

Sometimes called Micco Spadaro because his father was a sword smith, Domenico Gargiulo had a gestural style of drawing figures and excelled in historical subjects such as this scene from Virgil’s Aeneid. The epic poem about the founding of Rome follows the wanderings of Aeneas, an Odysseus-like character who escaped the destruction of Troy by the Greek army. Here altars of stolen sacrifices attract the attention of a swarm of fearsome harpies—half bird, half woman—who shriek for vengeance.

Harpies Attacking Aeneas and His Companions

Domenico Gargiuli (Micco Spadaro)

n.d.

Accession Number

84680

Medium

Pen and iron gall ink on cream laid paper

Dimensions

19.1 × 26.6 cm (7 9/16 × 10 1/2 in.)

Classification

pen and ink drawings

Museum

The Art Institute of Chicago

Chicago, United States

Credit Line

The Leonora Hall Gurley Memorial Collection