Antique Painting Muzio Scevola Oil On Canvas Bologna Italy '600

Oil on canvas. 17th-century Bolognese school.
The scene depicts the historical—and legendary—episode of Mucius Scaevola, a hero of ancient Rome who, during the siege of Rome by the Etruscan king Porsenna (508 B.C.), sneaked into the enemy camp to kill the king: captured after mistakenly killing the king’s scribe instead of the king himself, to demonstrate the courage of the Romans and punish his right hand for missing its target, Muzius placed it on a burning brazier, letting it burn without showing any pain.
Porsenna, impressed by his courage, set him free and lifted the siege of the city.
Rich in color and dynamic figures depicting an episode from classical culture, the painting embodies the characteristics of 17th-century Bolognese art, rooted in the revival of classicism and the rise of the Baroque.
Particularly striking are the vivid colors and the overlapping of figures across different visual planes, distinguished by varying levels of luminosity.
The painting has undergone restoration and re-gilding in the past.
It is presented in a gilded frame from the early 20th century.
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