Ave Caesar! Morituri te salutant (Hail Caesar! We Who Are about to Die Salute You) Yale University Art Gallery

1859

Gérôme considered this painting, submitted to the Salon of 1859 in Paris, one of his most successful compositions. Roman gladiators were an unusual subject, even for historicizing painters like Gérôme. While these scenes look like fanciful reconstructions (especially when seen through the lens of American cinema, which drew heavily on such canvases for inspiration), Gérôme was in fact greatly preoccupied with historical accuracy, studying archaeological excavations and antique weapons. The title is taken from an episode in Suetonius’s Life of the Caesars (second century A.D.); criminals and captives greeted the emperor with these words.

Medium: Oil on canvas
Dimensions: unframed: 36 5/8 × 57 1/4 in. (93.1 × 145.4 cm)
Credit Line: Gift of C. Ruxton Love, Jr., B.A. 1925
Accession Number: 1969.85
Culture: French
Period: 19th century
Classification: Paintings
Disclaimer: Note: This electronic record was created from historic documentation that does not necessarily reflect the Yale University Art Gallery’s complete or current knowledge about the object. Review and updating of records is ongoing.

Provenance

Salon, Paris, 1859; Goupil, Vibert et Cie. (dealer), New York, March 1859, no. 917; sold to Ernest Gambart (1814–1902), London, 1859. Sale, Christie's, London, May 3, 1861; sold to Petit. Eddy Matthews; sale, Universal Exposition, Paris, 1867; Graves Collections (Christie's, London, 6 June 1891). Sale, Sotheby's, New York, April 18, 1962, no. 83); sold to Cornelius Ruxton Love Jr. (1903–1971), Greenwich, CT, 1962; given to the Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, Conn., 1969

Bibliography

Pierre Sérié, La Peinture d'Histoire en France 1860–1900, la lyre ou le poignard (Paris: Arthe´na, 2014), 61, fig. 44

William Innes Homer, The Paris Letters of Thomas Eakins (Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 2009), ill.

Sotheby's France, Paris, Tableaux, sculptures et dessins anciens et du XIXe siècle, sale cat. (2002), 100, no. 90

Helen A. Cooper et al., Thomas Eakins: The Rowing Pictures, exh. cat. (New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Art Gallery, 1996), 82–83, fig. 47

Object copyright

No Copyright - United States

Additional information

Object/Work type

human figures (visual works)

Subject

shields, weapons

Technical metadata and APIs

IIIF: Open in Mirador

View IIIF manifest

The International Image Interoperability Framework, or IIIF, is an open standard for delivering high-quality, attributed digital objects online at scale. Visit iiif.io to learn more
Linked Art: API response for this object

Linked Art is a Community working together to create a shared Model based on Linked Open Data to describe Art.