An Episode from the Life of Publius Cornelius Scipio
Giovanni Bellini·after 1506
Historical Context
Bellini's Episode from the Life of Publius Cornelius Scipio (after 1506) at the National Gallery of Art is a rare secular history painting from an artist primarily known for devotional and religious subjects. Scipio Africanus — the Roman general who defeated Hannibal — provided an opportunity for Bellini to engage with the humanist interest in Roman history and virtue that pervaded educated Italian culture. The work demonstrates his versatility in handling subjects beyond the religious mainstream and his ability to develop narrative history painting in the classical mode that was being championed by Mantegna and others at the northern Italian courts. The Roman subject matter and the classical architectural framing reflect the humanist education of Bellini's Venetian patrons.
Technical Analysis
Bellini's late oil on canvas shows his mastery of warm, unified tonality with the atmospheric effects of his final period, applying the same luminous technique he used for Madonnas to a classical narrative subject.
Provenance
Probably commissioned by Francesco Cornaro, Palazzo Corner-Mocenigo a San Polo, Venice. Sir John Charles Robinson [1824-1913], London; sold 1873 to Sir Francis Cook, 1st Bt. [1817-1901], Doughty House, Richmond, Surrey;[1] by inheritance to his son, Sir Frederick Lucas Cook, 2nd Bt. [1844-1920], Doughty House; by inheritance to his son, Sir Herbert Frederick Cook, 3rd Bt. [1868-1939], Doughty House; by inheritance to his son, Sir Francis Ferdinand Maurice Cook, 4th Bt. [1907-1978], Doughty House, and Cothay Manor, Somerset; sold February 1948 to (Gualtiero Volterra, London) for (Count Alessandro Contini Bonacossi, Florence);[2] sold March 1949 to the Samuel H. Kress Foundation, New York;[3] gift 1952 to NGA. [1] Maurice Brockwell, _Abridged Catalogue of the Pictures at Doughty House, Richmond, Surrey, in the Collection of Sir Herbert Cook_, London, 1932: no. 133. [2] See copies of correspondence in NGA curatorial files, from the Cook Collection Archive in care of John Somerville, England. Volterra was Contini-Bonacossi's agent in London. [3] The Kress Foundation made an offer to Contini Bonacossi on 4 March 1949 for a group of twenty-one paintings, including the Bellini; the offer was accepted on 10 March 1949 (see copies of correspondence in NGA curatorial files, see also The Kress Collection Digital Archive, https://kress.nga.gov/Detail/objects/225).
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