The Victorious Hannibal Seeing Italy from the Alps for the First Time
Artist: Francisco de Goya y Lucientes (Spanish, 1746-1828)
Date: 1771
Medium: Oil on canvas
Collection: Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid, Spain
Description
Hannibal (247 – between 183 and 181 BC) was a Carthaginian general and statesman who commanded the forces of Carthage in their battle against the Roman Republic during the Second Punic War.
Hannibal appears in the center of the composition, atop a mountain ridge, escorted by a majestic-winged genie and a mounted soldier with a solemn banner unfurled behind him. He has raised the visor of his helmet and gazes rapturously toward the wide valley of the Po River. This is personified by the figure with its back turned, a bull's head and a red cloth. Located in the lower left corner, it ushers in the scene and admiringly greets the victor. In the background on the left, the army appears reaching the summit, while on the right, other soldiers rest on their horses. In the sky, a divine apparition of Victory, holding a laurel wreath, promises the Carthaginian general new triumphs.
