Jupiter Rebuked by Venus
Abraham Janssens
1116 likes86 comments
The Story
This is one of two surviving paintings from Laurent de La Hyre’s series illustrating the story of Queen Panthea’s capture by the armies of Cyrus the Great, the ancient king of Persia. Cyrus, shown here in blue, refused even to gaze upon the beautiful queen, choosing instead to concentrate on affairs of state and turning her care over to his friend Araspas, who ultimately fell in love with her to tragic consequences.
La Hyre’s take on this tale of the conflict between love and civic duty was probably made as part of a suite of decorations for a reception room or a private cabinet in a Parisian townhouse.
The physical object — Oil on canvas, 141.9 × 102 cm (55 7/8 × 40 1/8 in.); Framed: 171.5 × 131.5 cm (67 1/2 × 51 3/4 in.) — carries its own history of handling and restoration. Laurent de La Hyre's brushwork here moves between exacting description and looser, more suggestive passages, a balance typical of Baroque studio practice.
Look closely and the painting opens up. Objects you might pass over — a folded letter, a half-drawn curtain, the angle of a glance — were placed to be read. Cupids, mirrors, and flowers are not decoration; they signal desire, vanity, and the swift passage of beauty.
Art Institute of Chicago in Chicago now holds the work, where conservators and historians continue to revisit its condition and attribution. Each generation of scholarship adds a layer to how Laurent de La Hyre's output from this period is understood.
“A silence so complete it becomes its own witness.”
