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Venus Preventing Aeneas from Killing Helen of Troy

Artist Luca Ferrari (Italian, 1605–1654)
Title Venus Preventing Aeneas from Killing Helen of Troy
Date Ca.1650
Medium Oil on copper
Dimensions Framed: 16 1/2 × 18 3/4 × 2 7/8 in. (41.9 × 47.6 × 7.3 cm)
Overall: 10 1/4 x 12 3/8 in. (26 x 31.4 cm)
Credit Line Gift of the Friends of Art, Eskenazi Museum of Art, Indiana University
Accession Number 66.77

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About this Work

The small scale, jewel-like palette, and copper support of this painting suggest it was intended for a Kunstkammer, collector's cabinet. Likely produced for a classically educated patron, the painting depicts a scene from the Aeneid, an epic written by the Roman poet Virgil between 29 and 19 BCE. The Aeneid tells the story of Aeneas, a Trojan who becomes ancestor of the Romans after the fall of Troy. Luca Ferrari painted at least four versions of this dramatic composition.


Provenance research is ongoing for this and many other items in the Eskenazi Museum of Art permanent collection. For more information about the provenance of this artwork, please contact the department curator with specific questions.

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"Venus Preventing Aeneas from Killing Helen of Troy | Collections Online." Collections Online. Sidney and Lois Eskenazi Museum of Art, Indiana University, 2024. https://artmuseum.indiana.edu/collections-online/browse/object.php?number=66.77