Farewell of Hector to Andromache is a painting by the Russian artist Anton Losenko (1737–1773), painted in 1773. From 1925, the painting is in the Tretyakov Gallery (Inventory No. 5814). The dimensions of the canvas are 156.3 × 212.5 cm. The subject of the painting is linked to the account of the Trojan War as described in the Iliad, namely the farewell of Hector, the commander-in-chief of the Trojans, with his wife Andromache and their son Astyanax. The artist combines the theme of farewell to the family of the Trojan hero going to battle with the Greeks with the theme of patriotic exploits and civic duty.
The canvas was created at the behest of Empress Catherine II. Some elements of the painting remained unfinished due to the artist's death at the age of 36, caused by hydrops. Following Losenko's passing, his students adopted the distinctive construction of the painting Farewell of Hector and Andromache and subsequently "developed [it] into an unwritten system of compositional thinking that influenced the subsequent history of Russian historical painting." For half a century, the canvas was regarded as "the standard of historical classicist painting" in Russian painting.
Art historian , the primary biographer of Losenko during the Soviet era, described Farewell of Hector and Andromache as a mature work that exemplifies the artist's "high professional abilities as a composer, draughtsman and painter". In the opinion of art historian Nonna Yakovleva, the painting Farewell of Hector and Andromache can serve as "an ideal textbook illustrating the compositional, colouristic and ideological principles of classicism" even in the 21st century.
History In 1758, Anton Losenko commenced his studies at the Imperial Academy of Arts, which had been established in 1757. His mentors were the French artists Louis-Joseph Le Lorrain, Jean Louis de Velli and Louis-Jean-François Lagrenée, who were invited to Russia by the Academy's curator, Ivan Shuvalov. In 1760, Losenko was dispatched as a pensioner of the Academy to Paris, where he refined his skills under the guidance of the artist Jean Restout the Younger, who was then director of the Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture. At the conclusion of 1762, Losenko returned to Russia. However, his pension was subsequently extended, and in 1763 he once again relocated to France, where he remained until 1765. During this period, he was mentored by Joseph-Marie Vien. At the conclusion of 1765, the Council of the Academy granted Losenko's petition to extend his pension for a period of three years. Consequently, the artist relocated from Paris to Rome.
In 1769, Losenko returned to Russia. In the same year, he commenced work on the painting Vladimir and Rogneda, which became one of the first paintings on a subject from Russian history. The painting was completed in 1770, and for it the artist received the title of academician. Subsequently, Losenko became a professor at the Academy of Arts and assumed the role of head of the historical painting class. In 1772, he was additionally appointed as the director of the Academy of Arts, a position he held in conjunction with Nicolas-François Gillet.
Despite the considerable time and energy required to run the Academy and teach, Losenko continued his creative work. His subsequent (and, as it transpired, final) significant work was the painting Farewell of Hector and Andromache. The subject of this painting was based on the events of the Trojan War as described in the Iliad. It is known that the painting was commissioned by Empress Catherine II, and the artist worked on it in 1773, although, according to art historian Avraham Kaganovich, "there is no doubt that it was started earlier."
The prototype for the painting Farewell of Hector and Andromache was a painting of the same name by Jean Restoux the Younger, painted in 1727. He was Losenko's mentor during his retirement trip of 1760-1762. The engraving created by the French engraver Jean-Charles Le Vasseur in 1769 could be used as a point of reference for Restoux's painting for Losenko. In the course of creating the painting, Losenko consulted the French text of the Iliad from his personal library. This text was illustrated with engravings, one of which depicted the scene of Hector and Andromache's farewell.
Additionally, Losenko possessed a copy of the 1757 French book Tableaux tirés de l'Iliade, de l'Odyssée d'Homère et de l'Enéide de Virgile, avec des observations sur le costume, written by Anne Claude de Caylus, in which the he, discussing the story of the farewell of Hector and Andromache, advised artists to adhere to the Homeric text and cited a painting by Charles de La Fosse as an example. It is also possible that Losenko may have consulted the work of the 13th-century Italian historian Guido delle Colonne, entitled Historia destructionis Troiae. At the time of painting, several editions of this work were already available in Russian. It is known that at least one of these editions was in the library of the Academy of Arts.
Losenko's painting was incomplete at the time of his death on , which was attributed to hydrops. In the poem To the Deceased of the Academy of Arts Mr Professor and Director Anton Pavlovich Losenkov, which was intended as an epitaph, the poet Vasily Maykov wrote: "Andromache's unhappy farewell to Hector, / Not ended by thee, it seems so, / As she must be troubled with fear, / Her sorrow is alive with thee" (). The painting remained on an easel in Losenko's studio until the very last days of his life. According to art historian Alexei Savinov, "the painting was almost finished".
For half a century, the painting Farewell of Hector and Andromache was regarded as "the standard of historical classicist painting" in Russian painting, until Fyodor Bruni painted his canvas Death of Camilla, Sister of Horatius in 1824.
The painting Farewell of Hector and Andromache was previously housed in the Museum of the Imperial Academy of Arts. Following the revolution, it was transferred to the State Museum Fund. In 1924, it was transferred to the Tretyakov Gallery. The canvas was exhibited at the following exhibitions: At the Origins of Russian Painting (State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow, 1925), Russian Historical Painting (State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow, 1939), 225 Years of the Academy of Arts (Moscow, 1983–1984), as well as at Losenko's retrospective exhibition held in 1987-1988 at the State Russian Museum in Leningrad.
Description
Subject
The narrative of the painting is based on the events of the Trojan War as described in the Iliad, an epic poem attributed to Homer. Hector, the Trojan commander-in-chief, is about to go to battle with the Achaean Greeks who are besieging Troy. At the Scaean Gate, through which he is about to leave the city, Hector meets his wife Andromache, who is holding their infant son Astyanax.
Foreseeing trouble, Andromache is persuading her husband not to risk his life: "stay here upon this wall; make not your child fatherless, and your wife a widow". But Hector's patriotic feelings take over. He believes that he is obliged to defend the Trojans and take part in the battle. Hector foresees the defeat of his army and the destruction of Troy, which will lead to slavery and the suffering of his loved ones, but he refuses Andromache's pleas: "Wife, I too have thought upon all this, but with what face should I look upon the Trojans, men or women, if I shirked battle like a coward?" Then Hector tried to embrace his son, but he recoiled from his father, "scared at the sight of his father's armor, and at the horse-hair plume that nodded fiercely from his helmet". Removing the helmet that frightened the child from his head, Hector took Astyanax and pleaded with the gods:
This is the moment of Hector's pitiful appeal to the gods that Losenko depicted in his painting. The artist combines the theme of the Trojan hero's farewell to his family with the theme of patriotic exploits and civic duty, with Hector's oath of loyalty to his people, expressed in his desire to "set the cup of our deliverance before ever-living gods of heaven in our own homes, when we have chased the Achaeans from Troy."
Characters and composition The composition of the painting comprises several groups of people. The central group, which includes Hector, Andromache and Astyanax, as well as the maid standing to their left, is surrounded by two groups of "chorus", composed mainly of Trojan warriors. In addition, there is another group on the right in the background, which includes a horse-driver and an armed retinue.
The compositional centre of the painting depicts Hector, a selfless folk hero. He is shown standing beside Andromache, with his right hand on the small hand of his son. As he recites the words of the oath, he extends his left hand out to the side, indicating that he is addressing all the Trojans. This serves to illustrate the artist's interpretation of the protagonist, which portrays him as both a loving father and a loyal citizen of Troy. The centrality of Hector in the composition of the painting is further emphasised by the fluttering of his red himation in the wind. His facial expression, upward gaze, and open mouth attest to the sincerity of both his vow and his overwhelming feelings. At the same time, according to art historian Avraham Kaganovich, "Hector's face and figure do not evoke an antique prototype, they are as real as the model that the artist undoubtedly used". Hector's clothes, including his cloak, are painted in the 18th-century pictorial tradition and more reminiscent of the Baroque than the Classical style, and his appearance has "much more real simplicity than epic grandeur". In general, the tradition of Russian classicism is evident in this work, which avoids excessive abstraction and introduces elements of concreteness into the portrayal of the characters, making them more understandable and closer to the audience. The main content of Losenko's image of Hector is that he is "full of strength, faith in the victory of a high patriotic impulse". Therefore, this image of the Trojan hero evokes in the audience not simply compassion, but a feeling of sincere respect.
The image of Andromache, also central to the composition of the painting, is, in Kaganovich's opinion, less successful than that of Hector, particularly because "he has been more influenced by abstract classics than anyone else". With a small son in her arms, she is turned to Hector and listens attentively to his words, but her attention is superficial, and in her appearance "she is perhaps the most alien character in the crowd of Losenkov's Trojans." This is likely due to the fact that the artist had not yet completed her image, particularly in the case of Andromache's face and eyes, which were merely "prepared for painting", and her clothes, which exhibited "an abundance of hinted and not yet revealed folds".
The image of the weeping maiden also belongs to the central group. The weeping maid is a character actor of the painting, and her image can be traced back to the earliest preparatory sketches by Losenko. The woman is depicted crying, wiping her tears with the end of her kerchief. Her costume is similar to that of an ordinary woman from the 18th century. It seems that the artist was drawn to this "image of a sensitive woman, touching in her kindness and sincerity of experience", which was seen as "a very real image of a simple person from the folk". According to the philologist Era Kuznetsova, "there is much more naturalness, directness and intimacy in her image than in the image of her lady". The lyrical and touching image of the maid anticipates the images of peasant women created in the early 19th century by Alexey Venetsianov. Concurrently, the maid appears to be an integral component of Andromache's image, closely and inextricably linked to it, inseparable from it.