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Notes
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The Continence of Scipio is one of a series of paintings that show scenes from ancient Roman history. They were probably intended to be inserted into wall panelling. Three other pictures in the series are in the National Gallery’s collection: The Attack on Cartagena, The Rape of the Sabines and The Intervention of the Sabine Women. The painting depicts an event that reveals the Roman general Scipio Africanus’s clemency as a military leader. During Scipio’s campaign against the Carthaginians in Iberia his troops took a beautiful young woman prisoner. Here, the young woman stands behind the seated Scipio in a modest pose based on classical statues of Venus (known in Latin as Venus pudica). Rather than abusing her, Scipio allows the young woman to return to her fiancé, provided that her family become friends of Rome.
Title
The Continence of Scipio
Date
about 1555-75
Medium
Oil on canvas, transferred from wood
Measurements
H 35.6 x W 153 cm
Accession number
NG643.2
Acquisition method
Bought, 1860
Work type
Painting
