#marcus curtius

[illustratus]

Marcus Curtius ― Circle of Hendrick Goltzius

[artemlegere]

Marcus Curtius

Artist: Benjamin Robert Haydon (English, 1786-1846)

Date: c. 1842-1843

Medium: Oil on canvas on board

Collection: National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, Australia

Description

In Livy’s History of Rome, written around 29 BC, he recorded the legend of a chasm opening in the Forum, which the prophets said could not close until Rome sacrificed its greatest treasure. Duly, Marcus Curtius, a young soldier, said that the valor of the Roman people was of the greatest worth, he then mounted his horse, and rode into the gulf to his death. The gaping hole was then able to be filled, ending the potential disaster. It is an epic tale of stoicism in the face of inevitable doom, and an individual’s ultimate sacrifice for the greater good.

[mythologypaintings]

Marcus Curtius Leaping into the Void

Artist: Eustache Le Sueur (French, 1617-1655)

Date: 17th century

Medium: Oil on canvas

Collection: Private Collection

Description

Marcus Curtius is a mythological young Roman who offered himself to the gods of Hades. He is mentioned shortly by Varro and at length by Livius. He is the legendary namesake of the Lacus Curtius in the Roman Forum, the site of his supposed self-sacrifice.

[antoniettabrandeisova]

Marcus Curtius (detail), Johann Georg Platzer (Austrian, 1704–1761)

[mysterious-secret-garden]

Benjamin Robert after Haydon - Marcus Curtius.

[charlesreeza]

Pilgrim Flask, tin-glazed earthenware with pewter stopper, c. 1540-50, attributed to the workshop of Guido di Merlino, Italy

St. Louis Art Museum

[didoofcarthage]

Marcus Curtius on Horseback and Titus Manlius on Horseback, from the series The Roman Heroes, by Hendrick Goltzius

Dutch, 1586

engraving

Philadelphia Museum of Art

[ars-videndi]

Hendrick Goltzius (1558–1617), Marcus Curtius, from the series The Roman Heroes, 1586. Engraving; first state, 37 x 24.1 cm. The Metropolitan Museum of Art In Rijksmuseum