Oedipus Painting

Oedipus the king of ancient Thebes is considered as one of the most celebrated tragic characters of ancient Greek Drama. We are all well acquainted with the story. Discarded at birth to die because it was prophesied that he will grow up to kill his father and become king, he survived and grew up not knowing his original parents. As a young man he met his birth father at a crossroad and killed him after an argument hence fulfilling the prophecy. He slayed the Sphinx and became king of Thebes and married his widowed birth mother who bore him children through this incestuous relationship. It was all destined. And as fate will have it the truth is ultimately revealed and Oedipus’ mother committed suicide and Oedipus chose exile after scratching his own eyes out rendering himself blind. Though this painting is based on this tragedy, I have tried to elucidate the reasons for this tragedy through the imagery. Fate and society conspired to render Oedipus a tragic hero. He rose in honour and then he was made to fall from that pedestal. Would it have been such a tragedy if Oedipus actually died as a baby? So, what makes a tragedy is not just the fact that we are helpless puppets when it comes to cruel fate playing with our lives, but also the fact that society has very rigid morality which makes it cruel towards people who do not fit in. I have used watercolours, pen and ink on acid free textured paper to bring this work of art to life. NOTE: Custom duty fee if any is payable by the buyer. Different Countries have different rules and regulations for packages being shipped in and the Custom duty fee varies as well. Such fees are not included in the shipping cost.