Manner of Johan Franz Michael Rottmayr (Austrian, 1654-1730)

18th Century

The Battle of the Lapiths and the Centaurs (a pair of works)
oil on cradled panel in giltwood frames
18 x 34 inches.

Property from the Estate of Michael L. Wilkie, Chicago, Illinois

Note:

The story of the battle between the centaurs and Lapiths comes from Ovid, who wrote of the wedding of Pirithous, King of the Lapiths, and Hippodameia. During the wedding feast, one of the centaurs amongst the wedding guests, Eurytus, drunkenly tried to carry off the bride, resulting in a bloody battle between the two groups—a battle which the Lapiths ultimately won. The story represents the dichotomy of civilized behavior and untamed, animalistic inclinations which coexist in human nature and, in the Lapiths' victory, emphasizes the value of civility over barbarism.

Ironically, in the greater context of Greek mythology, the centaurs and Lapiths were kindred in nature. They respectively descended from Centaurus and Lapithes, the twin sons of Apollo and the river nymph Stilbe. Lapithes was a valiant warrior whose descendants were a peace-loving people and included many other notable warriors and kings. Centaurus, however, who was born deformed, exiled himself to the mountain of Pelion where he roamed and mated with mares residing there, thus producing the wild and debaucherous centaur race.