18thC ITALIAN SCHOOL

18th Century Italian school oil on canvas of Thetis dipping Achilles in the river Styx.
Unsigned. Very dirty with age, paint losses and flaking, in need of restoration.
Sold as seen.
Height 44.5cm. Width 57cm

Thetis heard that her son would be doomed to die young in battle, so she plunged her infant son into the river Styx to make him immortal. But she held him by his heel, making that his only vulnerable spot, which later became his downfall, giving rise to the phrase “Achilles’ heel”