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The Triumph of Aemilius Paulus

1789
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 632
Vernet began this enormous painting with its more than one hundred figures and dozen horses in 1787, and he presented it as part of his application for admission to the French Royal Academy in 1789. Exhibited at the Salons of 1789 and 1791, the painting’s ambition and advanced classicism proved a critical success. Vernet’s unusual format perfectly suits his subject: a procession that allegedly lasted three days, led by Roman general Aemilius Paulus who defeated King Perseus of Macedon in 168 BCE. The general rides in triumph on the gold cart followed by prisoners, including Perseus with his family. The temple of Jupiter Capitolinus with its hundred steps dominates the learned catalogue of ancient buildings comprising the background.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: The Triumph of Aemilius Paulus
  • Artist: Carle (Antoine Charles Horace) Vernet (French, Bordeaux 1758–1836 Paris)
  • Date: 1789
  • Medium: Oil on canvas
  • Dimensions: 51 1/8 x 172 1/2 in. (129.9 x 438.2 cm)
  • Classification: Paintings
  • Credit Line: Gift of Darius O. Mills, 1906
  • Object Number: 06.144
  • Curatorial Department: European Paintings

More Artwork

More Artwork
François Delpech's Print Shop, Carle (Antoine Charles Horace) Vernet French, Lithograph with 20th century lettering addition (“Rockman Prints")
François Delpech's Print Shop
Carle (Antoine Charles Horace) Vernet
Publisher F. Delpech
ca. 1820
Guitar, Jean-Baptiste Voboam French, Spruce, tortoiseshell, mother-of-pearl, ivory, ebony, French
Guitar
attributed to Jean-Baptiste Voboam
1697
Mezzetin, Antoine Watteau French, Oil on canvas
Mezzetin
Antoine Watteau
ca. 1718–20
Self-Portrait with Two Pupils, Marie Gabrielle Capet (1761–1818) and Marie Marguerite Carraux de Rosemond (1765–1788), Adélaïde Labille-Guiard French, Oil on canvas
Self-Portrait with Two Pupils, Marie Gabrielle Capet (1761–1818) and Marie Marguerite Carraux de Rosemond (1765–1788)
Adélaïde Labille-Guiard
1785
A Dismounted Horse Reined in by an Officer, Carle (Antoine Charles Horace) Vernet French, Hand colored lithograph on wove paper
A Dismounted Horse Reined in by an Officer
Carle (Antoine Charles Horace) Vernet
1770–1836

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