Orestes and Pylades Disputing at the Altar
Pieter Pieterzs Lastman
PIETER PIETERZS LASTMAN, 1614. ON ON PANEL.
In the throngs of a crowd, as the heat of a burning altar warms their faces, two friends decide which one of them is to die and which is to live. Orestes and Pylades, so goes the ancient Greek tale, had travelled to Tauris to steal the statue of Artemis, but were found out and, as was custom for any unwanted visitor, sentenced to death at the altar. Yet, taking pity on the friends, the priestess of the temple allowed them to chose between them who was to be sacrificed for the other. Both fought for their own death, to save their friend and, in the end, neither were killed as the priestess of the temple was none other than Orestes long lost sister Iphigenia. Lastman was the first artist to paint this story, and for all of it’s complications, his rendering is succinct and effective. He cuts through much of the contextual difficulty of the story to find the heart of the fable - one of sacrifice, and the platonic love between friends and siblings.