Young Albanian being chased by a Turk (Dance of Zalongo), Filippo Agricola, circa 1833

The dance of zalongo was a popular theme among artists during the first half of the 19th century. Countless painters, sculptors, poets, and writers venerated the 60 souli women who jumped off a cliff with their children committing suicide rather than suffering rape and lifelong torture. The theme was adopted in countless paintings including the series les femmes souliotes by ary scheffer french painter claude pinet also created a painting entitled dance of zalongo around the same period. Theophilos hatzimihail was a greek painter who venerated the women of souli in his rendition of dance of zalongo in the 1920s. Agricola was probably familiar with the story due to its popularity. Object Type: painting. Date: circa 1833. Dimensions: height: 126 cm (49.6 in); width: 166 cm (65.3 in). Medium: oil on canvas. Collection: Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Moderna e Contemporanea. Young Albanian being chased by a Turk (Dance of Zalongo)