Jason

1865

Oil on canvas, 204 × 115.5 cm · Musée d’Orsay, Paris

Shown at the Salon of 1865, a year after Moreau’s Oedipus made his name. Its dense, jewel-like detail is typical of his approach to myth.

Jason stands with his foot on the dead guardian, painted as an eagle rather than a dragon.
Medea stands behind him holding a small vial.
A column with a ram’s head stands for the Golden Fleece.
Given to the French state by Théodore Reinach in 1908.

Jason sailed with the Argonauts to Colchis to win the Golden Fleece. He succeeded only with the help of the king’s daughter, the sorceress Medea.

Image: Wikimedia Commons · Public domain