The Magnanimity of Scipio
Artist: Gerbrand van den Eeckhout (Dutch, 1621-1674)
Date: 1658
Dimensions:
54 3/8 x 67 1/2 in. (138.1 x 171.5 cm)
Medium: oil on canvas
Classification: Paintings
Credit Line: Gift of Arthur J. Secor
Object number: 1923.3155
Label Text:After conquering a Spanish city, the ancient Roman commander Scipio found among his “spoils” a beautiful young woman. When he learned that she was engaged, he did the honorable thing and magnanimously released her unharmed to her fiancé and parents. The girl’s parents, who had brought a ransom of gold (rendered in this painting as fine examples of 17th-century Dutch silver), attempted to give it to Scipio in gratitude. He refused, bestowing it instead on the young couple as a wedding gift.
Gerbrand van den Eeckhout, a pupil of Rembrandt, used lighting and poses for the couple and the parents that immediately draw our eyes to them. Notice also how their individualized features set them apart from the other figures. Van den Eeckhout frequently painted portraits in the guise of stories from literature or history that expressed characteristics or situations appropriate to the portrait sitters. The Magnanimity of Scipio, for example, was an obvious choice for commemorating a wedding, and likely shows an actual married or betrothed couple and the parents of the bride.
Gerbrand van den Eeckhout, a pupil of Rembrandt, used lighting and poses for the couple and the parents that immediately draw our eyes to them. Notice also how their individualized features set them apart from the other figures. Van den Eeckhout frequently painted portraits in the guise of stories from literature or history that expressed characteristics or situations appropriate to the portrait sitters. The Magnanimity of Scipio, for example, was an obvious choice for commemorating a wedding, and likely shows an actual married or betrothed couple and the parents of the bride.
On view
In Collection(s)