HA 234 "Project Book": Aeneas' Flight From Troy

The object of my choice is a painting by an Italian artist, Federico Barocci. The painting is called Aeneas’ Flight from Troy. It is an oil painting about 62.5 by 101.5 inches in size and was commissioned during the Late Renaissance in 1598 (Richards 1961). It currently resides just 4 kilometres away from Rome’s city center in the Galleria Borghese. The first thing about this painting that caught my attention was the title, “Aeneas’ Flight from Troy”. I usually prefer religious art from this period as I believe it is quite beautiful, but since a religious theme is prominent in most pieces created at this time, a painting based on Virgil’s epic poem, The Aeneid, naturally sparked my interest. As mentioned, religious art during this period was highly prevalent throughout Europe. It is for this reason that I tend to forget that the Renaissance was a period that reflected on the art and myths of Classical Greece (in this case, a Roman poet) and shaped them to fit with the emerging ideas of humanism. Still, I find it interesting that Barocci would base his painting off of a Pagan poet while Christianity was so prominent. Having read and enjoyed The Aeneid, I was already interested in how Barocci would present Aeneas fleeing from Troy and how he would give the piece a distinct Renaissance feel while preserving the integrity of the poem.