John Flaxman; Hector Chiding Paris; 1792-1793; pen and grey ink; brush and black ink over graphite on wove paper; 8 3/8 in. x 12 1/8 in. (21.27 cm. x 30.8 cm.); This drawing by the English Neoclassical sculptor and illustrator John Flaxman conjures a scene from Homer's 'Iliad'; the first book the artist illustrated to great acclaim. (His later projects included Dante's 'Divine Comedy;' and Aeschylus.) Commissioned by Mrs. Hare-Naylor in 1792 or 1793 and created in Rome; Flaxman's drawing for the 'Iliad' shows the Trojan leader Hector chastising Paris for defending Troy haphazardly. Flaxman used this drawing as a preparatory study for the published engraving of the encounter. The final work is simplified even further; as it drops Helen's maids and presents the nude; effeminate Paris resting on a bow; his head lowered in shame. Flaxman's drawings of classical scenes and his designs for Josiah Wedgwood's ceramic wares sparked a craze throughout Europe for his silhouetted figures; which Flaxman had developed from engravings of Greek vases.