2-722-484 - Heritage Art/Heritage Images

Aeneas Saving Anchises at the Fall of Troy, 1587-1588. In book two of Virgil’s epic poem The Aeneid (29-19 bc), the Trojan hero Aeneas escapes with his family from the burning city of Troy and its Greek invaders. Here the artist shows them making their way through a lavish, classical corridor. Aeneas carries his elderly father Anchises, who holds their household gods. These acts stress the theme of domestic virtue. Aeneas’s son Ascanius and his wife Creusa follow, although Creusa’s separation from the principal group alludes to her fate; she will not survive their flight. This drawing was at one time owned by the painter Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640). Other sketches for Aeneas, Anchises, and Creusa can be seen in the right margin.