NARRATOR:
Around 390 B.C. the Roman tribune Furius Camillus laid siege to the Etruscan town of Falerii. According to the historian Livy, a local schoolmaster lured a group of his students to the Roman camp and offered them as hostages hoping that Camillus would negotiate a quick victory. Here, we see the general sitting at the left. In Livy’s account, he is appalled by the teacher’s tactics:
CAMILLUS [ACTOR]:
“Neither my people, nor I, happen to share your tastes. You are a scoundrel and your offer is worthy of you. War has its laws as peace has, and we have learned to wage war with decency no less than with courage.”
NARRATOR:
Camillus ordered the teacher to be stripped and presented to his pupils for punishment. Here, his charges lead him to his fate. He seems twisted and grotesque in contrast to the noble and dignified general, whose magnificent red robe conveys his moral superiority.
Nicholas Poussin, who created this canvas in the late 1630s, was especially concerned with the didactic and philosophical possibilities of painting. In these figures, he juxtaposes shapeless and harmonious form, prompting viewers to contemplate the ethical divide between good and evil. Inspired by the works of classical antiquity and of the Renaissance master Raphael, Poussin strove for an art of linear precision and solidity, meant to appeal to the viewer’s intellect. He became the chief architect of the French classical tradition in painting, and his rational approach resonated far into the 19th century.
Camillus and the Schoolmaster of Falerii
c. 1635-40
Nicolas Poussin (French, 1594-1665)
On View
The incident depicted here is from Livy's account of the life of Republican leader and general Furius Camillus. While the general was besieging the town of Falerii, a local schoolmaster lured his pupils to the Roman camp, hoping to offer them as hostages. Finding the schoolmaster guilty of treason, Camillus offered him up to his students for punishment. The schoolmaster's twisted and distorted figure becomes a symbol of immorality and evil. The ethical Camillus, by contrast, is erect and well proportioned. Whatever the political overtones, Poussin's composition encourages us to contemplate the difference between shapeless ugliness and harmonious form.
Details
- Artist Name: Nicolas Poussin (French, 1594-1665)
- Title: Camillus and the Schoolmaster of Falerii
- Date: c. 1635-40
- Medium: Oil on canvas
- Dimensions: 39-5/8 x 54 in. (100.6 x 137.2 cm)
- Credit Line: The Norton Simon Foundation
- Accession Number: F.1970.14.P
- Copyright: © The Norton Simon Foundation
Object Information
Painted for Michel Passart, Paris (d. 1692), ca. 1635, still in 1683.
Neyret de la Ravoye, in 1701.
J. Meijers, Rotterdam (sale, 9 September 1722, lot 1, as smaller of two works titled Furius Camillus, sold to);
Cornelis Wittert van Valkenburg, Rotterdam (sale, 11 April 1731, lot 4, bought-in);
Van Valkenberg, Rotterdam (sale, 7 October 1733, lot 14, sold to);
H. de Lange, The Hague.
Fürsten zu Schaumburg-Lippe, by 1738, (sale, Bückeburg, 3 April 1929, to);
Rosenbaum, Frankfort.
Prince Paul of Yugoslavia, sold 4 August 1931 to;
[Julius Böhler, Munich; stock nos. 31-62 / 7379, sold a 1/2 share to];
[Lucerne Fine Art Co., Lucerne, sold 5 April 1934 to];
Henri-Lévy, Strasbourg, by descent to;
Heirs of Henri-Lévy; offered November 1969 and subsequently sold 1970, by Claude Lang, Brussels (son-in-law of Henri-Lévy),
through Kenneth Walker, New York, to;
The Norton Simon Foundation.
Neyret de la Ravoye, in 1701.
J. Meijers, Rotterdam (sale, 9 September 1722, lot 1, as smaller of two works titled Furius Camillus, sold to);
Cornelis Wittert van Valkenburg, Rotterdam (sale, 11 April 1731, lot 4, bought-in);
Van Valkenberg, Rotterdam (sale, 7 October 1733, lot 14, sold to);
H. de Lange, The Hague.
Fürsten zu Schaumburg-Lippe, by 1738, (sale, Bückeburg, 3 April 1929, to);
Rosenbaum, Frankfort.
Prince Paul of Yugoslavia, sold 4 August 1931 to;
[Julius Böhler, Munich; stock nos. 31-62 / 7379, sold a 1/2 share to];
[Lucerne Fine Art Co., Lucerne, sold 5 April 1934 to];
Henri-Lévy, Strasbourg, by descent to;
Heirs of Henri-Lévy; offered November 1969 and subsequently sold 1970, by Claude Lang, Brussels (son-in-law of Henri-Lévy),
through Kenneth Walker, New York, to;
The Norton Simon Foundation.
[on loan]
- Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1970 to
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- Mahon, D., The Burlington Magazine, p. 303
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- Selected Paintings at the Norton Simon Museum Pasadena, California, p. 67
- Wright, Christopher, The French Painters of the 17th Century, p. 252
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- Smith, John, A Catalogue Raisonné of the Works of the most Eminent Dutch, Flemish and French painters,no. 175 p. 94
- Bonadella, Peter, The Eternal City: Roman Images in the Modern World,fig. 20 p. 98
- Campbell, Sara, Collector Without Walls: Norton Simon and His Hunt for the Best,2010, cat. 739 p. 333
- Blunt, Anthony, The Paintings of Nicolas Poussin: A Critical Catalogue,no. 143 pp. 102-103
- Thuillier, Jacques, Tout l'oeuvre peint de Poussin,no. 89 p. 96
- Friedlander, Walter, Gazette des Beaux Arts, pp. 52-57
- Wollheim, Richard, Painting as an Art,fig. 190 p. 213
- Blunt, Anthony, Nicolas Poussin, pp. 161, 168
- Schnapper, A.; and M. J. Massat, Bulletin de la Société de l'Histoire de l'Art français, pp. 99-108
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