A Landscape with the Story of Cadmus Killing the Dragon
- Artist: Francesco Zuccarelli
- Date: exhibited 1765
- Medium: Oil paint on canvas
- Dimensions: support: 1264 x 1572 mm
- Museum: Tate Britain
- Collection record: Tate Britain website
Listen to the free audio guide
About this artwork
This is the *A Landscape with the Story of Cadmus Killing the Dragon* by Francesco Zuccarelli. Painted in 1765, it’s an oil on canvas that pulls you straight into Ovid’s *Metamorphoses*. You can see Cadmus, the founder of Thebes, mid‑brawl, thrusting a javelin at a dragon that’s made the locals' spring water a forbidden relic of Mars. His companions lie scattered, their fates quietly implied by two sleeping figures in the foreground. The artist keeps the dragon modest in scale—no towering beast—so the heroic drama stays front‑and‑center.
Zuccarelli was an Italian who left Venice for London in 1752. His pastoral scenes, full of Arcadian light and a touch of Rococo colour, won over English patrons. By 1768 he was producing works for George III and became a founding member of the Royal Academy. This landscape reflects that blend of classical myth and lush, approachable nature. The scene feels almost calm, almost idyllic, but the violence of the dragon’s death is unmistakable. It’s a great example of how 18th‑century artists could marry epic narrative with picturesque landscape, making the story feel both grand and intimately familiar.
See it in person
A Landscape with the Story of Cadmus Killing the Dragon is in the collection of Tate Britain on Millbank, London — free to enter. Point your phone at any artwork there and audioguide.london plays a free audio guide in six languages — no app download needed.
