Jean-François de Troy (1679-1752)

Jason Taming the Bulls of Aeetes

Rome, about 1742

Oil on canvas

55.3 x 128.9 cm

Jason, in the centre, miraculously tames two fire-breathing bulls in his quest for the Golden Fleece. 

He is watched in amazement to the left by Aeetes, the King of Colchis, and by his daughter Medea.  She was Jason’s lover and it was she who provided him with the magic herbs that protected him. This oil sketch was made in Rome by the French artist de Troy in preparation for a much larger painting, which, in turn, acted as the model for a tapestry woven in the Gobelins workshop in Paris.  The scene is one of seven depicting Jason’s life.

Purchased 1961 (No.61.1)