Pizarro Seizing the Inca of Peru

John Everett Millais's Pizarro Seizing the Inca of Peru, painted in 1846 when the artist was just sixteen, was exhibited at the Royal Academy and announced the arrival of a prodigious talent. Millais, who had entered the Royal Academy Schools at the unprecedented age of eleven, would go on to co-found the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood in 1848. This early history painting, depicting Pizarro's capture of Atahualpa in 1532, already shows his remarkable technical facility.

The oil on canvas shows the remarkable technical accomplishment of the teenage Millais, with dramatic composition, rich color, and confident figure drawing. The theatrical staging and detailed rendering of costumes and armor demonstrate precocious mastery of academic history painting conventions.