This painting illustrates a legend explaining why the Lacus
Curtius (Lake of Curtius) in the Roman Forum was venerated by
ancient Romans. According to the Roman historian Livy, a chasm
suddenly appeared in the middle of the Forum in 362 BCE.
Soothsayers declared it could only be closed, and Rome’s empire
preserved forever, by casting into it “Rome’s greatest
treasure.” This was interpreted by the young soldier Marcus
Curtius to mean the city’s brave youth. He sacrificed himself by
leaping, fully armed and on horseback, into the chasm, which
closed over him. While this subject also appears in earlier art,
Jean-Léon Gérôme’s composition is bold, dynamic, and unusual.
Gérôme shows Marcus Curtius on his terrified charger flying out
of the picture and into our space, placing us in the abyss among
the flames of Hades. Oil on canvas Purchased with the Beatrice
Oenslager Chace, class of 1928, Fund ID Number: SC 2010:7