• Agostino dei Musi

Marcus Furius Camillus Arrives in Rome

• Production Date

  1531

• Type of Work / Object

  Graphic Art > Copper Engraving

• Location

  • Not on display

• Inventory Number

  E1846

• Catalogue Number

  E1846

• Catalogue Level / Collection

  Thorvaldsen's Collections > Collection of Prints (E)

Explanation

• The Roman soldier and statesman Marcus Furius Camillus (d. 365 BC) is known as “the second founder of Rome”. The engraving shows him on horseback. The place is Rome. The Trajan Column with its twisting relief moulding. Camillus has just reached some Gauls and Romans who are busy weighing something. The time is 390 BC, when the Gauls occupied Rome for seven months. At the end of this time, the Gallic soldiers were in such a miserable state that the Gauls swore an oath to the Romans, promising to leave Rome immediately provided they were given 1000 pounds of gold and other valuables. But the Gauls went too far when they quite openly doctored the scales. This did not please the Romans, and the Senate summoned Camillus. He came with his entire army. They confiscated the gold and the scales from the Gauls and took Rome. This heroic military deed in which Camillus put the Gauls to flight gave him the status of “the second founder of Rome”. He subsequently became Roman dictator.

Additional Catalogue Information