Antiochus and Stratonice 

Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres painted 'Antiochus and Stratonice' in France in the 19th Century. Ingres was trained within the French academy of art. Here we can see how that institution valued the revival of classical themes. The story is based on Plutarch’s ‘Life of Demetrius’. It tells of prince Antiochus who is sick with love for his stepmother Stratonice, here depicted with a downcast gaze. His father, king Seleucus, is counselled by a doctor to allow their marriage in order to save his son. The painting offers a vision of paternal and marital relations that would have appealed to conservative and royalist taste after the French revolution. It has been suggested that the painting was commissioned by the Duc d’Orléans to promote these values. We can research the patron's papers and family history for more information. Such research demonstrates the importance of social context for interpreting the image.