0607IphigeniaTauris

0607IphigeniaTauris_Feuerbach

Backgrounds

Iphigenia was rescued by Artemis at Aulis, according to Euripides and others, and installed as her priestess in the cannibalistic cult at Tauris. The savage Taurians sacrificed to Artemis all strangers who came to their land. And Iphigenia nearly sacrificed Pylades and Orestes, whom she recognized just in the nick of time.

Feuerbach paints here a deeply contemplative and lonely Iphigenia, a young priestess who has been rescued for an existence that can hardly satisfy her. Orestes' eventual arrival, her rescue, is something she cannot possibly anticipate.

18th-Century authors, especially Goethe, had explored the depths of Iphigenia's character-building experiences on Tauris and the near-miss Orestes experienced, nearly murdered by his own sister's binding command. Feuerbach seems to be working in that tradition.