# The Death of Sophonisba [View the canonical artwork record]() ## Artwork - Artist: [RÉGNIER, Nicolas]() - Date: 1601-1650 - Technique: Oil on canvas, 126 x 151 cm ## Commentary Sophonisba was the daughter of a Carthaginian general at the time of the second Punic war. She married a prince of neighbouring Numidia, allied to Rome, and succeeded in alienating him from his Roman masters. But he was captures by another Numidian leader Masinissa, who in turn fell in love with Sophonisba, and likewise married her. To prevent the loss of a second ally from the same cause the Roman general Scipio demanded that she be surrendered and sent captive to Rome. Her husband, not daring to defy Scipio, sent her a cup of poison which she drank. Sophonisba was the daughter of a Carthaginian general at the time of the second Punic war. She married a prince of neighbouring Numidia, allied to Rome, and succeeded in alienating him from his Roman masters. But he was captured by another Numidian leader Masinissa, who in turn fell in love with Sophonisba, and likewise married her. To prevent the loss of a second ally from the same cause the Roman general Scipio demanded that she be surrendered and sent captive to Rome. Her husband, not daring to defy Scipio, sent her a cup of poison which she drank. Sophonisba's death is a popular theme among Baroque painters of Italy and northern Europe. The present painting, one of the three existing versions by Regnier, shows the <a onclick="return OpenOther\('/html/r/reni/2/marymagd.html'\)" href="/html/r/reni/2/marymagd.html">influence of Guido Reni.</a> ## Related artworks - [A Musician Playing a Lute to a Singing Girl]() - [Cardsharps and Fortune Teller \(detail\)]() - [Cardsharps and Fortune Teller]() - [Guessing Game]() - [Self-Portrait with a Portrait on an Easel \(detail\)]() - [Self-Portrait with a Portrait on an Easel]() - [St John the Baptist]() - [St Sebastian]() - [St Sebastian Tended by Irene and Her Servant]() - [The Fortune Teller]() - [Vanitas \(Allegory of Transience\)]() ## Attribution [Web Gallery of Art]()