King Candaules

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King Candaules: Jean-Leon Gerome

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Art Type: Oil Painting
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Jean-Leon Gerome Oil Painting - King Candaules

Keywords: King, Candaules

Work Overview: King Candaules of Lydia
Jean-Leon Gerome
Date: 1858
Style: Academicism
Genre: history painting
Media: oil, canvas
Dimensions: 99 x 67.3 cm
Location: Dahesh Museum of Art, New York City, NY, US

Candaules (Greek: Κανδαύλης, Kandaulēs), also known as Myrsilos[1] (Μυρσίλος), was a king of the ancient Kingdom of Lydia from 735 BC to 718 BC. He succeeded Meles and was followed by Gyges. Based on the ambiguous line of the Greek poet Hipponax, it was traditionally assumed that his name meant 'dog throttler' among the Lydians.[2] More recently, however, it was suggested that the name or title Kandaulēs is cognate with Luwian hantawatt(i)- 'king' and probably has the Carian origin [3]. The name or title Kandaulēs is the origin of the term candaulism, for a sexual practice attributed to him by legend.

Several stories of how the Heraclid dynasty of Candaules ended and the Mermnadae dynasty of Gyges began have been related by different authors throughout history, mostly in mythical tones. In Plato's Republic, Gyges used a magical ring to become invisible and usurp the throne, a plot device which reappeared in numerous myths and works of fiction throughout history. The earliest story, related by Herodotus in the 5th century BCE, has Candaules betrayed and executed by his wife, Nyssia, in a cautionary tale against pride and possession.

Gérôme’s image was interpreted in two ways: some thought it depicted the moment when Gyges first saw Rodolphe, while others saw it as just prior to the king’s death, with the disrobing queen providing a distraction. The legend is recounted by the ancient historian Herodotus, but Gérôme was more likely to have taken it from one of his champions, the writer and critic Théophile Gautier, who published his own version of the story in serial form in 1844. Gautier’s novella offered a similarly detailed description of the king’s bedchamber and dwelt at length on this scene, which the writer called one of “visual adultery.”

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Jean-Leon Gerome

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