Domenico Gargiulo, called Micco Spadaro
Italian, 1609-c. 1675
Harpies Attacking Aeneas and His Companions
INV-8468
Domenico Gargiulo, called Micco Spadaro
Italian, 1609-c. 1675n.d.
Harpies Attacking Aeneas and His Companions
Domenico Gargiulo, called Micco Spadaro Italian, 1609-c. 1675 →pen and ink drawingsdrawings (visual works)
Date
n.d.
Medium
Pen and iron gall ink on cream laid paper
Dimensions
19.1 × 26.6 cm (7 9/16 × 10 1/2 in.)
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Location
Chicago, IL
Credit
The Leonora Hall Gurley Memorial Collection
Sometimes called Micco Spadaro because his father was a sword smith, Domenico Gargiulo had a gestural style of drawing figures and excelled in historical subjects such as this scene from Virgil’s Aeneid. The epic poem about the founding of Rome follows the wanderings of Aeneas, an Odysseus-like character who escaped the destruction of Troy by the Greek army. Here altars of stolen sacrifices attract the attention of a swarm of fearsome harpies—half bird, half woman—who shriek for vengeance.