/internal/media/dispatcher/17049/fullThe Sacrifice of Iphigenia1690/1691[Johann Michael Rottmayr]Johann Michael RottmayrOil on canvas Iphigenia has done nothing wrong, yet she must be killed. Rottmayr portrays her as nude and defenseless: She is the victim of her father Agamemnon, who culled a hind that was sacred to Artemis, the goddess of the hunt, and boasted about being a better hunter than she was. By way of punishment, Artemis prevents the Greeks from departing for the Trojan War. Only the sacrifice of Iphigenia seems to be able to salvage the situation. At the very last moment, Artemis rescues the young woman and carries her off to Tauris, where the liberated Iphigenia serves as her priestess. „The Sacrifice of Iphigenia“ was produced soon after Rottmayr’s return from Venice, where he had spent thirteen years acquiring profound knowledge of the lagoon city’s painting style. Though at first the painter predominantly created paintings on canvas, later he increasingly turned to fresco painting.Paintinghttps://sammlungtest.belvedere.at/objects/3036/rdf