"The Sacrifice of Iphigenia" by Jean Tassel in the Salon of the Cupid Hall of the Arkhangelskoye Estate

Agamemnon is about to sacrifice his daughter Iphigenia to the goddess Artemis in order to secure a fair wind for the fleet at Aulis.

The departure of the Greek fleet was hindered by a calm, caused by the wrath of Artemis at Agamemnon's slaying of the goddess's sacred hind. The seer Calchas then declared that the angry goddess must be appeased with the sacrifice of Iphigenia, who had been brought to Aulis for her wedding to Achilles. Fortunately, the killing of the girl did not take place: at the last moment Artemis substituted a hind for Iphigenia on the altar, making the maiden her priestess in Tauris.

To the right of "The Sacrifice of Iphigenia" we see the painting "Rinaldo and Armida" by Charles Alphonse Dufresnoy, on a subject from Torquato Tasso's poem "Jerusalem Delivered", in which the crusader knight Rinaldo falls under the spell of the enchantress Armida, who lures him away in order to distract him from the siege of Jerusalem. Rinaldo forgets his duty and revels in love, until his friends remind him of honour by showing him his distorted reflection in a shield.

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"The Sacrifice of Iphigenia" by Jean Tassel in the Salon of the Cupid Hall of the Arkhangelskoye Estate

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