Oil painting on canvas from the 18th century of the Northern European school depicting Caratacus in front of the Emperor Claudius. Caratacus was a Celtic king of the Briton tribe Catuvellauni, leader of the anti-Roman resistance and famous as a freedom fighter. For eight years he resisted the Roman invasion of Britain starting in AD 43. For eight years he was the most wanted man in the Roman Empire, hunted relentlessly, from fight to fight, fortress to fortress, in the mountains of Wales, until he was betrayed and handed over to the Romans in 51 A.D. by Cartimandua, queen of the Yorkshire Brigantes, to whom he had turned for help. Defeated, he was brought in chains to Rome with his entire family; brought in front of the emperor, the Briton king spoke with such wisdom and pride (with the speech reported by Tacitus in his Annales) that Claudius, impressed by his words, granted clemency to him, his wife and brothers, allowing them to spend the rest of their days in Rome. The painting depicts the moment of the peroration of Caratacus, in the centre of the scene in chains, as he fervently pleads his cause before the emperor; the latter sits on his throne, flanked by his wife and surrounded by senators and soldiers. The painting, restored and restretched at the end of the 19th century, shows slight damage. Size without frame: 71 x 101 cm.
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PLATINUM Seller in Milano, Italy
