Marcus Curtius
(c. 1842-1843)

• Benjamin Robert HAYDON

In Livy’s History of Rome, written around 29 BC, he recorded the legend of a chasm opening in the Forum, which the prophets said could not close until Rome sacrificed its greatest treasure. Duly, Marcus Curtius, a young soldier, said that the valor of the Roman people was of the greatest worth, he then mounted his horse, and rode into the gulf to his death. The gaping hole was then able to be filled, ending the potential disaster. It is an epic tale of stoicism in the face of inevitable doom, and an individual’s ultimate sacrifice for the greater good.

Through his teaching and artistic practice, Benjamin Robert Haydon advocated that the standard of British art, therefore the spirit of the nation, could be elevated by artists portraying morally uplifting subjects based on Classical literature. The story of Marcus Curtius, with its theme of nobility and sacrifice, suited Haydon’s ideal of appropriate subject matter for “high art”. In 1842, he began a huge painting of Marcus Curtius, over three meters in height, which he exhibited at the British Institution in 1843. The painting met with some critical success, and Haydon went on to make numerous small copies, which he sold to friends and patrons. This is one such version, which was bought by Haydon’s long time patron and supporter Richard Twentyman, who, shortly after purchasing it, emigrated to Australia.

Exhibited: Exhibition of Works of Art, Art Treasures and Ornamental and Decorative Art, Melbourne Public Library (NGV), 1869, no. 522E as Curtius Leaping in to the Gulf, lent by Richard Twentyman.