Terms and conditions of use
Sophonisba receiving the poison
(c. 1675)
Medium
oil on canvas
Measurements
143.8 × 259.0 cm
Credit Line
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Felton Bequest, 1968
Gallery location
17th to 18th Century European Paintings Gallery
Level 2, NGV International
About this work
Preti was an exponent of the florid, late-Baroque style. A follower of Caravaggio, he worked in many of the same places as that artist: Rome, Naples and Malta. The subject of Sophonisba was popular in his time as an example of female virtue. As related by Livy in his History of Rome, Sophonisba was the wife of the ruler of Cirta, in ancient Numidia. When her city was overthrown in 203 BCE by the Numidian prince Masinissa, a Roman ally, she beseeched him never to surrender her to Rome. In love with the queen, but unable to protect or relinquish her, Masinissa sent Sophonisba a cup of poison to spare her the humiliation of captivity.
Artwork Details
Place/s of Execution
Valletta, Malta
Accession Number
1818-5
Department
International Painting
This digital record has been made available on NGV Collection Online through the generous support of Digitisation Champion Ms Carol Grigor through Metal Manufactures Limited
Subjects (general)
History and Legend Human Figures Relationships and Interactions
Subjects (specific)
armour (protective wear) domestics (servants) jugs (vessels) poison queens (people) Sophonisba staffs (staff weapon components) suicides
Movements
Baroque
Provenance
Collection of the Principi Antici Mattei family, Rome collection of the Conti Gaetani, Rome exhibited Studio d'Arte Palma, Rome, Mostra di pittori italiani del seicento, December 1944 – February 1945, no 20 with Colnaghi (dealer), London by 1968 purchased from Colnaghi on the advice of Dr. Mary Woodall, with Sir Michael Levey and Signor Giovanni Carandente, for the Felton Bequest, 1968.