Verdier's reception piece at the Academy in 1688 was Hercules and the Gorgon, and the theme remained a favorite subject of the artist. The first drawing probably represents Hercules abducting Iole, the daughter of Eurytus, King of Oechafia who is seen shying away from the hero's upraised club. The second drawing depicts the meeting of Dido and Aeneas. His ship having been wrecked on the coast near Carthage (see lot 257) , Aeneas went with his companions to Dido's palace to ask for help. Dido, under the spell of Venus, fell in love with him. Drawings of similar size and handling by Verdier are in the Metropolitan Museum, J. Bean and L. Turcic, 15th-18th Century French Drawings in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1986, no. 303, illustrated, and sold at Christie's, London, 10 December 1991, lot 195, illustrated