France / 1798
Oedipus at Colonus
Oedipus at Colonus
The Cleveland Museum of Art catalogs Oedipus at Colonus as painting (France · 1798).
WHY IT’S INTERESTING
Fulchran Jean Harriet died young at age 29, and less than 10 of his works survive today.
A CLOSER LOOK
The museum identifies this painting as oil on canvas and credits Fulchran Jean Harriet (French, 1778–1805).
The museum's collection notes: The ancient mythical Greek king Oedipus fulfilled his fate by unknowingly killing his father and marrying his mother. He subsequently blinded himself and was exiled. Here, Oedipus reprimands himself, while protecting his daughter Antigone. Oedipus became popular in France just after the French Revolution, since the subject addressed the return of exiles. The ancient Greek writer Sophocles provided the best-known version of the tragedy, but an interpretation that played in Paris in 1797 inspired Harriet’s work.
FOLLOW THE EVIDENCE
The Cleveland Museum of ArtOedipus at ColonusOriginal explanation based on the sources above. Images carry their own reuse terms.