Medea Slaying Her Brother Absyrtus, from the series Conquest of the Golden Fleece

Boyvin created twenty-six engravings after Thiry’s drawings illustrating the Livre de la Conqueste de la Toison d’Or (Conquest of the Golden Fleece). In this scene, Medea attempts to delay her father, King Aeëtes, as he pursues her and Jason on the Argo by dismembering her brother Absyrtus and throwing the pieces into the water. Knowing that her father would stop to collect his son’s limbs so that he may reach the afterlife intact, Medea assisted Jason’s escape with the Golden Fleece. The main image of the print is straightforward in its depiction of Medea chopping up Absyrtus on the deck of the Argo. The surrounding details in the frame are arguably the more elaborate and inventive components of the composition; they reflect Boyvin’s aptitude for designing model prints for the goldsmiths and jewelers active in the court at Paris.