Painting by Ivanov “Bellerophon goes on a campaign against the chimera”


The picture is devoid of uniqueness of the heroic and pathetic pathos of traditional academic programs. The artist treats the ideal image multifaceted, endowing it with purely human traits: inner struggle, a sense of eternity and a firm determination to accomplish the feat.

The plot for the picture was the ancient Greek legend of the feat of the son of the Corinthian king Glaucus Bellerophon. While at the palace of Lycia Iobate, the hero had to fulfill his command and fight with the three-headed fire-breathing Chimera. The gods gave him the winged horse Pegasus. Having attacked the Chimera from the air, the warrior destroyed the monster devastated by the country.

It shows the moment of farewell to the flight of Bellerophon to the king Iobate. The hero in the academic tradition is presented naked. Next to a wonderful horse full of readiness for flight. Behind them is a flying goddess Athena – the patroness of a warrior.

On the left, behind the seated king, turning away from what is happening, is the princess Dilonoy, – she bitterly experiences separation from her beloved. In the solemn atmosphere of the picture, her main theme is the glorification of the heroic deed of the ideal hero – the warrior.
The theme of the painting was given to AA Ivanov by the Society for the Encouragement of Artists (OPC) in 1829 “for the final verification of his abilities before departure at the expense of the OPC in Italy.”
At the end of the summer of 1829 Ivanov graduated from the painting.


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Painting by Ivanov “Bellerophon goes on a campaign against the chimera”