Achilles among the Daughters of Lycomedes

This dramatic scene captures a clever moment from Greek mythology. The hero Achilles, whose mother knew he was destined to die in the Trojan War, had been hidden away on the island of Skyros. To keep him safe, he was disguised as a girl among the daughters of King Lycomedes. But the wily Odysseus, needing Achilles for the war effort, came up with a trick. He arrived as a merchant offering jewels and fine things, but slipped a sword and shield among the gifts. While the real girls reached for the trinkets, Achilles instinctively grabbed the weapons, revealing his true nature. You can spot him at the center, the young figure clutching the sword and shield, while the merchant on the left watches with knowing eyes.

Pietro Paolini painted this around 1620, working in the bold, shadowy style made famous by Caravaggio. Notice how the light seems to fall from one direction, pulling certain faces and hands out of the surrounding darkness. This technique, called tenebrism, was all the rage in Italian painting at the time. Paolini packed the canvas with characters, each reacting in their own way, from the curious girls to the old woman peering in from the right. It is a busy, theatrical work that invites you to linger and pick out the small details, like the open jewelry box spilling its treasures across the table.