The Generosity of Scipio

The history painting, which combines the Baroque pathos of the 17th century with the elegance and colourfulness of the early Rococo, depicts an antique tale of virtue.

In one of his few paintings on Roman history, church painter Jean Restout (1692–1768) depicts an event from the Roman military campaign against the Carthaginians in Spain:

The victorious general Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus (c. 235–183 BCE) renounced his spoils of war, the bride of the Celtiberian Allucius. In return, he called for Allucius to become a friend of the Roman state.

He even declined the lavish gifts that the girl’s grateful parents offered him and gave them to Allucius and his bride as a wedding present. Moved by Scipio’s benevolence and magnanimity, Allucius fulfilled his promise at once and offered his services to the Roman general, who became known as a paragon of virtuous rule.

In Restout’s painting, the Romans have set up camp outside the walls of the conquered city.

The general stands on a raised step under the roof of a tent. His crimson cloak draws our attention towards him.

Allucius kneels before him and clasps the general’s hand in gratitude…

… while Scipio gestures toward the young bride in white.

The costly dowry that the bride’s parents offer with imploring gestures is a masterful little still life within the painting.

The composition, with its theatrical placement of the figures and their exaggerated gestures, adheres entirely to the rules of classical French history painting.

Figures press in from the right towards the left, their movements and gestures growing ever more dramatic, until finally culminating in the figure of the general.

The moralistic character of the picture is unmistakable. Restout is less interested in representing a moment of Roman history than in staging an example of virtuous human behaviour.