Turnus, Overwhelmed by the Trojans, Crosses the River to Return to His Companions (Aeneid, Book IX)
ca. 1530–35
Medium
Painted enamel on copper, partly gilt
Dimensions
8 3/4 x 7 3/4 in. (22.2 x 19.7 cm)
Classification
Enamels
Culture
French, Limoges
Department
European Sculpture and Decorative Arts
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Fletcher Fund, 1945
Accession Number
45.60.5
Tags
Art Historical Context
In the midst of Virgil's epic *Aeneid*, Book IX, the Trojan warrior Turnus finds himself overwhelmed by his foes and desperately crosses a river on horseback to rejoin his companions. This dynamic scene is captured in a exquisite painted enamel on copper by the anonymous Master the Aeneid, a in illustrating the classical poem during the French Renaissance around 1530–35. Created in Limoges, the epicenter of enamel production, the 8 3/4 x 7 3/4-inch panel with action: soldiers clash, horses rear, and a distant castle looms amid rushing waters, evoking the drama of ancient heroism. Limoges enam...