King Candaules

King Candaules is an 1859 history painting by the French artist Jean-Léon Gérôme. It depicts a legendary scene from the Kingdom of Lydia in Anatolia during classical period. King Candaules had an excessive pride in his wife's Nyssia's beauty. To prove this and show her off he secretly invited his bodyguard Gyges of Lydia to watch her while she was undressing. When she discovered what had happened she conspired with Gyges to assassinate her husband and take his place.
The painting was based on a story in the Histories by the Ancient Greek writer Herodotus, which had recently been translated into French by Théophile Gautier. The painting was displayed at the Salon of 1859 in Paris. It is now in the collection of the Museo de Arte de Ponce in Puerto Rico.