One of the greatest landscape painters of the 19th century, Camille Corot also completed large-scale paintings based on mythological and biblical subjects for the annual Salon exhibitions in Paris. In this painting, Orpheus, the ancient Greek legendary hero who was endowed with superhuman musical skill, leads his young wife Eurydice out of the underworld. Corot depicts the young couple just before the tragic moment when Orpheus absentmindedly breaks the terms of Eurydice´s liberation by turning to look at her, thereby losing her forever to Hell.
Museum purchase with funds provided by the Agnes Cullen Arnold Endowment Fund
