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Joseph Mallord William Turner (English, 1775–1851)
The Decline of the Carthaginian Empire, exhibited 1817
Oil on canvas; 67 x 94 in. (170 x 238.5 cm)
Tate, London, Turner Bequest, 1856
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Turner repeatedly drew on the history of the ancient state of Carthage, in North Africa, for pictorial motifs. This work, a pendant to Dido Building Carthage; or, the Rise of the Carthaginian Empire (National Gallery, London), depicts an episode from the Punic Wars in which the Carthaginians bid farewell to their sons as the departing Roman fleet carries them into slavery. The conflict between Rome and Carthage would have resonated in Turner's day in the context of the struggle between England and France during the Napoleonic Wars. The compositional dominance of the sun reflects Turner's emulation of the harbor scenes of Claude Lorrain (ca. 1604–1682).
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