Anselm Feuerbach, Iphigenia, 1870

The German artist Anselm Feuerbach was familiar with the classical texts and he also attended a performance of Christoph Willibald Gluck’s opera Iphigénie en Tauride in Munich. Above all, however, it was Goethe’s 1787 treatment of the story that was decisive for Feuerbach's portrayal. It was through Goethe’s drama that Iphigenia became a symbol of yearning for Greece.