Pompeo Girolamo Batoni (Lucca 1708 - 1787 Rome). Studies of a torso, a head and a foot, ca. 1740. Red chalk on paper. 43x28,5cm. Preliminary study for the 'Sacrifice of Iphigenia' (National Galleries of Scotland). From a European private collection; Richard L. Feigen Gallery, New-York

During the 18th century, the story of Iphigenia was an important subject and a source of creativity. In Greek mythology, Iphigenia appears as the Greek fleet gathers in Aulis to prepare for war against Troy. At Aulis, the leader of the Greeks, Agamemnon, accidentally kills a deer in a grove sacred to the goddess Artemis, who punishes him by preventing his fleet from sailing to Troy. The seer Calchas reveals that, to appease Artemis, he must sacrifice his daughter Iphigenia. Agamemnon at first refuses but eventually agrees, pressured by the other commanders.