Dido in Cyprus

Inspired by Hans von Marees's ‘Ancient Chariot with a Pair of Horses and Several Female Figures,’ (mid-19th century), Lowe transparent view through the voluminous masses of the initial drawing, revealing the drawing’s anatomy, including previously hidden figurative elements such as the chariot structure and charioteer. Using live models, the original proportion, scaling, and foreshortening problems have been corrected. Dido is portrayed by a nymph from Boucher’s ‘Mercury Confiding Bacchus to the Nymphs’ (c.1733), flanked by decorative painting elements indicative of Klimt portraiture. Lowe’s reimagined scene depicts the Queen and founder of Carthage upon her arrival in Cyprus, witnessing her soldiers being propositioned on the shore by native women.