The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of March 29, 2024

Hannibal Swearing Eternal Enmity toward Rome

Hannibal Swearing Eternal Enmity toward Rome

c. 1808
Location: not on view

Description

This scene from ancient history shows a moment in the boyhood of the great Carthaginian general Hannibal (247-about 183 bc). While sacrificing to the gods in preparation for a military campaign, Hannibal's father decided to have his son swear an oath to remain the eternal enemy of Rome. At the center of the composition, the nine-year-old Hannibal imitates the gesture and stance of his father, while a bull is sacrificed below. The unknown creator of the scene probably planned to make a larger painting of it because important events from antiquity, such as this one, were typical subjects for the period. In addition, the overall use of pen and brush with white highlights for modeling was a technique frequently used to finalize a composition before realization on a larger scale in oil.
  • Emile-Louis Galichon (Lugt 1058, lower left, in blue ink); Louis Galichon (Lugt 1060, verso, center left, in blue ink). [Sotheby-Parke-Bernet, London (21 June 1979), no. 65]; purchased in 1979.
  • Foster, Carter E., Sylvain Bellenger, and Patrick Shaw Cable. French Master Drawings from the Collection of Muriel Butkin. [Cleveland, Ohio]: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2001. Reference: cat. no. 23, p. 56-57, Reproduced: p. 57
  • French Master Drawings from the Collection of Muriel Butkin. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (August 26-October 28, 2001); Dahesh Museum of Art (February 19-May 18, 2002).
  • {{cite web|title=Hannibal Swearing Eternal Enmity toward Rome|url=false|author=|year=c. 1808|access-date=29 March 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2008.349