A Spartan Woman Giving a Shield to Her Son
Jean Jacques François Lebarbier, A Spartan Woman Giving a Shield to Her Son, 1805, oil on panel, Museum Purchase: Helen Thurston Ayer and the Honorable George Rossman Funds, public domain, 85.58
This work is not currently on view.
- Title
A Spartan Woman Giving a Shield to Her Son
- Artist
- Date
1805
- Medium
oil on panel
- Dimensions (H x W x D)
17 7/8 in x 21 1/4 in
- Inscriptions & Markings
signature/maker's mark: Signed "Le Barbieu Ainé 1805" Center right.
- Collection Area
European Art
- Category
Paintings
- Object Type
painting
- Culture
French
- Credit Line
Museum Purchase: Helen Thurston Ayer and the Honorable George Rossman Funds
- Accession Number
85.58
- Copyright
public domain
- Terms
Like other artists of his time, Jean-Jacques-François Le Barbier rejected the lighthearted grace of the Rococo in favor of the high-minded severity of Neoclassicism. His subjects, often vignettes from Greek and Roman mythology and history, served as illustrations for the newly found morality and patriotism of the French during and after the Revolution.
The subject of this painting is a Spartan woman bidding her husband farewell in the traditional manner, "Return carrying your shield or on it." All elements of the painting reinforce its message of civil duty. The children playing with the warrior's lance allude to Spartan military training, which began in infancy. The simplicity of the stone-walled interior underscores the austerity of Spartan existence, while the dog is both a symbol of fidelity and a reference to the famed dogs of Sparta.
- Exhibitions
1998 The Other Nineteenth Century Portland Art Museum
