Menelaus supporting the Body of Patroclus, 1793-95 (grisaille)

Robert Fagan By Pasquino (Menelaus supporting the Body of Patroclus) by Robert Fagan (Cork c.1745-Rome 1816), 1793/95. Grisaille panel of two full-length male figures: Menelaus on the left, naked except for a short tunic and helmet, bearded, bends over to the right supporting with his right hand the body of the naked Patroclus after he has been fatally wounded by Hector as told in Homer's epic poem the Iliad (Books XVI & XVII). The body hangs over his arm to the right, its knees on the ground, head hanging backwards to the right, left arm trailing on the ground. After a replica of a Roman copy of a Greek original by Antigonus of Carystos (?) 2nd half of the 3rd century BC in the Loggia dei Lanzi, Florence and the Pitti Palace, Florence originally from the most battered version in Piazza del Pasquino, Rome and manufactured by Pietro Tacca from a wax sketch mosle by Giambologna. Also known as Ajax amongst other titles. Attingham Park, Shropshire (Accredited Museum)