The Continence of Scipio (c. 1710): Art, History and Details

The Continence of Scipio (c. 1710) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection. The museum's creator attribution is Giovanni Antonio Pellegrini (Italian, 1675–1741).

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

In a story of virtuous leadership and wise government, the Roman commander Scipio Africanus the Elder appears after his stunning conquest of New Carthage in Spain in 209 BC. Standing above the crowd, he returns his victor’s reward--a beautiful young woman--to her husband.

Object facts

• Title: The Continence of Scipio
• Date: c. 1710
• Creator attribution: Giovanni Antonio Pellegrini (Italian, 1675–1741)
• Culture: Italy
• Type: Painting
• Technique: oil on canvas
• Dimensions: Framed: 155.5 x 132 x 12 cm (61 1/4 x 51 15/16 x 4 3/4 in.); Unframed: 127 x 105 cm (50 x 41 5/16 in.)
• Collection: P - Italian 18th Century
• Department: European Painting and Sculpture
• Accession number: 1968.207

Collection credit

Mr. and Mrs. William H. Marlatt Fund

Further reading listed by the museum

• Antonio Morassi, “Pellegrini and Guardi,” Emporium CXXVIII (1958): 198-199.
• Eugene V. Thaw, letter to Ann Tzeutschler Lurie, March 21, 1969, in CMA curatorial file.
• Morassi, Antonio. "Pellegrini and Guardi." Emporium CXXVIII, no. 11 (1958): 195-212.

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.