Comparing La Hyre's Panthea, Cyrus, And Araspas

Both Laurent de La Hyre’s Panthea, Cyrus, and Araspas (1631) and Bartolomeo Manfredi’s Cupid Chastised (1613) contain three central figures, two male and one female, and engage with classical information. Both of these rectangular oil paintings present ideas on the danger of love and repression of sexuality. However, each artist's construction of the body, action, and interaction colors these discussions. Through these modes, Manfredi presents a more physical conception of erotic love while De La Hyre presents a more detached idea of temptation.

In Cupid Chastised the god Mars (identified by his red costume, armor, and golden war chariot) whips Cupid (identified by his blindfold, youthful appearance, wings, and bow and arrow) for instigating

The Three main figures in Panthea, Cyrus, and Araspas are organized in vertical fourths, with the second from the right quarter left empty to showcase the background action. These figures are as stiff and static as the classical Ionic column located behind Panthea. Just like the immutable classical architecture referenced in the scene, the figures of the painting are timeless and ageless. Cyrus’ hand anchors the composition in the center of the painting, perfectly balancing the composition and making impossible any sense of dynamic movement. If a viewer tries to place his hand as Cyrus does in this painting, they would surely feel some muscular effort. However, here Cyrus’ arm floats without any muscular intervention in perpetuity. The pose feels theatrical, architectonic, and inhuman. It is hard for the viewer to place themselves within this action and, thus, to relate to the piece. It functions more like a lofty allegory of virtue, ideal and unattainable, than as relatable advice. Cupid Chastised, on the other hand, presents a messy, chaotic world much closer to the viewer’s experience of reality. The three figures, locked in a moment of dramatic movement and tension, are organized in a much more dynamic shape, the triangle. Further, their triangle is not perfectly balanced and shifts its weight towards the left of the canvas. These figures present a more approachable lesson than De La Hyre’s statues of virtue--they engage in movement and action into which the viewer can easily insert themselves. For instance, Mars’ tense forearm muscles and shoulder indicate his fury to the viewer. The god is angry with himself for his lapse in judgement and subsequent embarrassment and taking it out on someone else, something the average person has likely also done. That Manfredi’s painting is the more relatable of the two is underscored when one considers that Manfredi’s figures