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Orestes and Pylades Disputing at the Altar
Also titled De offerstrijd tussen Orestes en Pylades
Pieter Lastman (Amsterdam, ca. –1633)
1614
- Medium
- panel, oil paint (paint)
- Classification
- painting
- Dimensions
- outer size: depth 6.5 cm (support incl. frame)
- Museum
- Rijksmuseum
- Credit line
- Purchased with the support of the Vereniging Rembrandt
- Rights
- Public Domain Mark, as the museum states it.
- Who can see it
- Teens profiles and older: its subject is for older viewers (war, death, the Passion, drink or the like). How works are placed
About this work
This painting depicts a story from Greek antiquity. Orestes and Pylades (left) were caught trying to steal a statue of Diana from the temple (left background). One of them will have to die. At the altar, the friends argue over who will give his life for the other. Lastman’s densely composed compositions, his bright colours and the expressive gestures of his figures – all had an impact on the young Rembrandt.
