Oedipus and the Sphinx _ Gustave Moreau, a virtually unknown artist at the age of thirty-eight,
triumphed at the Salon of 1864 with his interpretation of the myth of Oedipus and the Sphinx. This painting represents the moment when Oedipus confronts the winged monster outside Thebes and must solve her riddle to save his life as well as those of the besieged Thebans.