The Chosen Five is an oil on canvas history painting by the English artist Edwin Long, from 1885. It is held at the Russel-Cotes Art Gallery, in Bournemouth.Russel-Coates Art Gallery
History and description It depicts a scene from Ancient Greece. The celebrated artist Zeuxis, working on a painting of Helen of Troy, has selected five beautiful young woman from Crotone so that he can use a composite of them to create the ideal depiction. The five models now pose in his studio.Russel-Coates Art Gallery It was produced with a companion piece, The Search for Beauty, depicting Zeuxis searching for the most beautiful woman to feature in the work.Smith p.200
The two paintings were exhibited at the French Gallery in London's Bond Street in 1885.Smith p.203 The Chosen Five was acquired by the art collector Merton Russell-Cotes.Smith p.202 It was donated to the Russel-Cotes Art Gallery, in Bournemouth in 1921.Art UK
The subject had previously been depicted by the French Neoclassical painter François-André Vincent in his 1789 work Zeuxis Choosing the Most Beautiful Women from Croton as His Models.Marvin p.50
References
Bibliography Marvin, Miranda. The Language of the Muses: The Dialogue Between Roman and Greek Sculpture. Getty Publications, 2008. Smith, Alison. The Victorian Nude: Sexuality, Morality and Art. Manchester University Press, 1996.