Cabanel, "Edipo e Giocasta"

Speranza Cabanel threw himself into the atelier curriculum with great zeal. The following October he registered as a matriculant in the École des Beaux-Arts, qualifying him to compete in the Prix de Rome competition. In Picot’s atelier he absorbed the best of the academic tradition, developing his skill in drawing and composition and acquiring a love for literary subjects. Cabanel’s early compositional sketches reveal his progress in historical painting. The subjects, evidently chosen by Picot, are taken from literature and the Bible: The Return of Ulysses, The Death of Priam, Oedipus Separating from Jocasta and The Feast of Esther with Hamon and Ahassuerus.