Skip to product information
Death of Messalina Gm-00070001
Products

Ref:

Description

Francesco Solimena (Italian, 1657–1747) Solimena here represents the murder of Messalina, third wife of the Roman Emperor Claudius, who had a reputation for promiscuity. Though the emperor forgave Messalina’s adultery, others saw this as a weakness, and a Roman officer ordered her assassination. The dynamic composition illustrates the moment in which a soldier thrusts a sword toward the frightened empress, who grasps his arm in a helpless attempt to fend off the attack.

This may be the only painted representation of the death of Messalina, a story from the Annals of Tacitus. The subject provided Solimena with an opportunity to engage with a dramatic narrative, whose intensity he heightened by illuminating the figures in the darkness with stark, white light and painting them on a monumental scale. According to his eighteenth-century biographer, Bernardo de' Dominici (1683–1759), Solimena painted this subject for a series of five canvases of historical and mythological subjects for the Procurator Canale in Venice.
Artwork Details

Title: Death of Messalina Gm-00070001
Artist:
Date:
Medium:
Type:

Manufacturing

For more than 60 years we have made high quality Note Cards for shops and the hospitality trade around the world. Each card is printed on acid free archival cotton art paper, incudes an ivory envelope and is individually wrapped in a glassine sleeve. These are made in Switzerland. We are happy to print your logo on the back of these cards for a small one time fee.

Giclee Prints are printed on Premium 200gsm Matte finish paper using the finest archival inks. Each print carries a white border around the perimeter. These are Made in USA or Europe depending upon your location.

High Quality Wood Framed Prints using museum quality paper and archival inks with a white border for a contemporary look. Comes with acrylite glazing and hanging hardware. These are Made in USA or Europe depending upon your location.

Stretched Canvas is stretched over 1.25" thick pine bars and printed on heavy cotton poly matte finish canvas. Comes with mounting brackets. These are Made in USA or Europe depending upon your location.

Our images are digitized from the original or negative and are licensed from their respective owners. Questions? Please email us at service@archivea.com

Shipping

We will work quickly to ship your order as soon as possible. Once your order has shipped, you will receive an email with further information at the address provided during checkout.

We ship all cards directly from Switzerland, with standard transit times of approximately 5–7 business days to the United States and 3–5 business days within Europe.

Other products may ship locally, typically within the U.S. or Europe, allowing for delivery times of around 3–4 business days. Shipping times may vary slightly depending on the destination and local customs processes.

You may also like