Scene from Ancient History (The Incorruptibility of Gaius Fabricius)

This 1650 Incorruptibility of Gaius Fabricius depicts the Roman general who famously refused King Pyrrhus's bribes and threats, returning to simple virtue after refusing gold, power, and the elephant used to terrify him. The story, from Plutarch's Lives, was a staple of civic virtue iconography in the Dutch Republic, which identified with Roman republican values of incorruptibility and resistance to tyranny. Fabricius embodied the ideal of the public servant who could not be bought—a message with pointed relevance for the Amsterdam civic context in which such histories were displayed. Bol received major civic commissions in this period, and this classical history painting demonstrates his ambitions beyond portraiture.

The classical history scene is staged with dramatic lighting and energetic figure painting, Bol's Rembrandtesque training evident in the warm palette and bold compositional arrangement of the morally charged narrative.