| Candaules Showing His Wife to Gyges | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Artist | Jacob Jordaens |
| Year | c. 1646 |
| Type | Oil on canvas |
| Dimensions | 193 cm× 157 cm(76 in× 62 in) |
| Location | Nationalmuseum Stockholm, Stockholm, Sweden |
Candaules Showing His Wife to Gyges is a small painting of the story of Candaules painted by Jacob Jordaens around 1646. It is in the collection of the Nationalmuseum Stockholm (accession number NM 1159). [1]
This image illustrates Herodotus's version of the tale of Gyges. Candaules was a king of the ancient Kingdom of Lydia in the early years of the 7th century BC. Proud of his wife's (the queen's) beauty, the king had boasted about her. One of his courtiers Gyges had expressed some reservations about the king's boasts. Piqued by his courtier's incredulity, the king invited Gyges to see his wife's beauty with his own eyes when she was going to bed at night. He led Gyges to his wife's bedroom where he could observe her. The queen, mad with the king, confronted Gyges and offered him the choice to be killed or kill the king. Gyges killed the king and seized the throne, taking the widowed queen as his wife. [1]
The painting shows the moment when the king and Gyges watch from behind a curtain how the naked queen is going to bed. The scene is placed in a 17th century environment instead of Antiquity. The queen has her head turned towards the viewer and her gaze can be interpreted as both provocative and triumphant. [2] Jordaens clearly has used the story as an excuse to paint his ideal nude model. A small dog with its tongue sticking out of its mouth sits at the feet of the queen. [1]
The work was painted by Jordaens in Antwerp and delivered to the collector Martinus van Langenhoven in 1646. [1] The work was donated to the Nationalmuseum Stockholm by count Axel Bielke in 1872. [2]
Gyges was the founder of the Mermnad dynasty of Lydian kings and the first known king of the Lydian kingdom to have attempted to transform it into a powerful empire. Gyges reigned 38 years according to Herodotus.
Palace of Fontainebleau, located 55 kilometers southeast of the center of Paris, in the commune of Fontainebleau, is one of the largest French royal châteaux. The medieval castle and subsequent palace served as a residence for the French monarchs from Louis VII to Napoleon III. Francis I and Napoleon were the monarchs who had the most influence on the palace as it stands today. It became a national museum in 1927 and was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1981 for its unique architecture and historical importance.
Jacob (Jacques) Jordaens was a Flemish painter, draughtsman and a designer of tapestries and prints. He was a prolific artist who created biblical, mythological, and allegorical compositions, genre scenes, landscapes, illustrations of Flemish sayings and portraits. After the death of Rubens and Anthony van Dyck, he became the leading Flemish Baroque painter of his time. Unlike those illustrious contemporaries he never travelled abroad to study the Antique and Italian painting and, except for a few short trips to locations elsewhere in the Low Countries, he resided in Antwerp his entire life. He also remained largely indifferent to Rubens and van Dyck's intellectual and courtly aspirations. This attitude was expressed in his art through a lack of idealistic treatment which contrasted with that of these contemporaries.
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Candaules, also known as Myrsilos (Μυρσίλος), was a king of the ancient Kingdom of Lydia in the early years of the 7th century BC. According to Herodotus, he succeeded his father Meles as the 22nd and last king of Lydia's Heraclid dynasty. He was assassinated and succeeded by Gyges.
The Ring of Gyges is a hypothetical magic ring mentioned by the philosopher Plato in Book 2 of his Republic (2:359a–2:360d). It grants its owner the power to become invisible at will. Through the device of the ring, this section of the Republic considers whether a rational, intelligent person who has no need to fear negative consequences for committing an injustice would nevertheless act justly.
Candaulism, or candaulesism, is a paraphilic sexual practice or fantasy in which one person exposes their partner, or images of their partner, to other people for their voyeuristic pleasure. Candaulism is also associated with voyeurism and exhibitionism.
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Candaules, King of Lydia, Shews his Wife by Stealth to Gyges, One of his Ministers, as She Goes to Bed, occasionally formerly known as The Imprudence of Candaules, is a 45.1 by 55.9 cm oil painting on canvas by English artist William Etty, first exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1830. It shows a scene from the Histories by Herodotus, in which Candaules, king of Lydia, invites his bodyguard Gyges to hide in the couple's bedroom and watch his wife Nyssia undress, to prove to him her beauty. Nyssia notices Gyges spying and challenges him to either accept his own execution or to kill Candaules as a punishment. Gyges chooses to kill Candaules and take his place as king. The painting shows the moment at which Nyssia, still unaware that she is being watched by anyone other than her husband, removes the last of her clothes.
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