GUÉRIN, Pierre-Narcisse
(b. 1774, Paris, d. 1833, Roma)

Clytemnestra and Agamemnon

c. 1822
Oil on canvas, 76 x 84 cm
Private collection

This painting, which recalls the work of Fuseli as well as David, depicts the moment when Clytemnestra is about to murder her unsuspecting husband Agamemnon with the aide of her lover Aegisthis. In Guérin's composition, Agamemnon slumbers, his weapons laid out beside him, unaware of his imminent death while his assassins creep into his room. Guérin employs a rich palette of burnt orange and crimson to highlight the partially drawn curtain aglow with candlelight.