After several years studying in Rome, the Irishman James Barry established himself in London in 1770. He exhibited The Education of Achilles at the Royal Academy in 1772, becoming a Royal Academician the following year. The painting, a statement of Barry’s classical ideals, shows the wise and learned centaur Chiron instructing the future hero Achilles in art (represented by the lyre), mathematics (the Euclidean diagram traced on the ground), and war (the spear and shield). A Greek inscription on the plinth supporting a mysterious veiled head translates as “all things: one and in one.” A startlingly original and inventive artist, Barry was also a political radical and contentious character, alienating both patrons and fellow artists and ending life isolated and impoverished. Gallery label for installation of YCBA collection, 2016