The Continence of Scipio
Sebastiano Ricci (Italian, 1659–1734)
c. 1706
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Materials & printing
Archival matte paper, 189 g/m² (10.3 mil), sourced from Japan, printed with multicolor water-based inkjet so every brushstroke stays crisp. Framed prints arrive ready to hang in a .75″ ayous-wood frame with an acrylite front. Sized to standard frames by cropping, never stretching — at most about 3% comes off one edge, which isn’t noticeable on most pieces, and we only offer a size when it stays that small.
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About this work
This painting depicts a scene from the life of Scipio Africanus, the Roman general who defeated Hannibal in the Battle of Zama (in present-day Tunisia) in 202 BCE. Here Scipio demonstrates his leadership by acting with restraint (“continence”) in refusing to hold a woman as a captive of war. According to the story on which the painting is based, the woman’s fiancé, shown kneeling beside her, was a powerful prince who agreed to a military alliance with Scipio in gratitude for his lenience. The theatrical setting and costumes—the invented military helmets, anachronistically dressed characters, fanciful architecture, and gravity-defying drapery, for example— suggest that the artist’s aims were allegorical rather than historical, intended above all to illustrate for viewers the virtues of compassionate diplomacy.
- Medium
- Oil on canvas
- Original size
- 140 × 182 cm (55 × 71 1/2 in.)
Museum record · 3 owners · 5 exhibitions
Provenance
- Probably Mr. Oliver, Castle Oliver, County Limerick, Ireland, by 1776 The Continence of Scipio was mentioned with other paintings by Ricci in Arthur Young’s Tour of Ireland (1776-1779); probably by descent to Edith Jane Thomasina Morris of Dunkathal, County Cork,who married Sir George Colthurst of Blarney Castle in 1881 (letter of Margaret Lantry dated 11 November, 2008 and of Sir Charles Colthurst of 8 September 2003 in curatorial file); by descent to Sir Richard St. John Jefferyes Colthurst, 8th Bt., Blarney Castle, Cork, Ireland; sold Sotheby’s, 27 February 1952, lot 141, to David M. Koester, New York.
- Walter P. Chrysler, Jr., New York, by 1956.
- Colnaghi’s, London, by 1969; sold to AIC, May 1970.
Exhibitions
- New York, NY, Finch College Museum of Art, A Loan Exhibition of Venetian Baroque Paintings, 1964.
- Memphis, TN, Brooks Memorial Art Gallery / Lexington, KY, University of Kentucky Art Gallery, Sebastiano and Marco Ricci in America, December 19, 1965 - January 23, 1966 / February 13 - March 6, 1966.
- Norfolk, VA, Norfolk Museum of Arts and Sciences, Italian Renaissance and Baroque Paintings from the Collection of Walter P. Chrysler, Jr., December 2, 1967 - May 15, 1968.
- London, P & D Colnaghi & Co., Ltd., Paintings by Old Masters, October 21 - November 7, 1969.
- Chicago, Art Institute of Chicago, Ireland: Crossroads of Art and Design, 1690-1840, March 17 - June 7, 2015.
