Pierre-Auguste Renoir "Jocaste"
The original title of this work wasu 'Jocaste'. In 1895, Renoir painted many works based on the Oedipus legend. Oedipus, a well-known character both from Greek mythology and from the tragedy by Sophocles, Killed Laius, the King of Thebes, and took the widowed Jocaste to be his wire, unaware that he had murdered his own father and married his mother. This painting set out to depict the queen's distress on learning the terrible truth.
Fortunately or otherwise, Renoir always managed to find joy in life, and the painting fails to convey a sense of great tragedy. When the work arrived in Japan, it came to be known as 'Shinden no mai' (Dance at the Shrine), an appropriate enough description of the scene for a viewer who does not know Renoir's purpose.
This work is believed to have been one of a pair. The other, depicting Oedipus, hung on the wall of the studio at Cagnes during the artist's lifetime.
Click picture for larger view.(41.4KB)
Pierre-Auguste Renoir
(1841 - 1919)
Jocaste
1895
Oil on canvas
94x36cm
