The Sacrifice of Polyxena

As recounted by the Roman poet Ovid, the compliant Polyxena is led to her death at the sacrificial altar to appease the ghost of the hero Achilles. Her mother tries to restrain her while the soldier Neoptolemus raises his sword. The infant holding a chest of incense and the austere priest complete this beautifully choreographed composition, which was painted the year following Le Brun’s return from Rome.