The Continence of Scipio

Giovanni Antonio Pellegrini’s “The Continence of Scipio” was painted around c. 1710. It depicts a scene from the life of the Roman general Scipio Africanus. The painting is held in the Cleveland Museum of Art.

The medium is oil on canvas. Typical for its time, the work combines elements of Renaissance and Baroque styles. It measures an unspecified size, as noted by the museum.

The story shows Scipio returning a captured woman to her fiancé, rejecting a ransom. This act of mercy during the Second Punic War was praised in classical times and revived interest in the Renaissance.

Pellegrini travelled extensively, working on commissions across Europe. His style was influenced by Paolo Veronese and Pietro da Cortona.

Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, Ohio, https://clevelandart.org/art/1968.207

https://oolf.net/open-art/pellegrini-the-continence-of-scipio/