JEAN MOSNIER (Blois, 1600-1656) Sacrifice of... Lot 26

JEAN MOSNIER (Blois, 1600-1656) Sacrifice of oxen to Zeus, Heracles and Athena Canvas. Height 175 Width 136 cm. (Damage and missing parts). Provenance: former collections of the Château de Cheverny. A painting by Mosnier depicting livestock being sacrificed to Zeus, Heracles and Athena. Canvas. Bibliography: Émeline Chassine and Jürgen Poirier, "Trois peintures de Jean Mosnier découvertes au château de Cheverny", Rouillac auction house, Tours, 2021. Presentation text to be consulted on www.rouillac.com. This "Sacrifice of oxen for Zeus, Heracles and Athena" is an iconography invented by Jean Mosnier. A priest offers a sacrifice to the goddess. Athena descends from the air to the altar and the sacrificial procession. This painting is a testimony of the creative force of the painter. As is often the case, the painter composes his canvas from elements that are part of his repertoire. The priest is similar to Calchas in his "Sacrifice of Iphigenia" (canvas, private collection) and the motif of the bent head with the dramatic expression of the woman in the background is found in a majority of his paintings.