LA HYRE, Laurent de
(b. 1606, Paris, d. 1656, Paris)

Cornelia Refusses the Crown of the Ptolomai

1646
Oil on canvas, 138 x 123 cm
Szépművészeti Múzeum, Budapest

The painting depicts the scene when Cornelia - the daughter of Scipio Africanus, the widow of consul Tiberius Gracchus and mother of Tiberius and Gaius Gracchus - refuses the crown of the King of Egypt and his marriage proposal. The style of La Hyre is the equivalent in painting that of Corneille and Racine in literature.