03 — ARTWORK
Sophonisba Drinking the Poison
CAROTO, Giovanni Francesco · 1550 →
- MEDIUM
- Oil on wood
- TYPE
- Mythological
PALETTE
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CURRENT LOCATION · Museo di Castelvecchio
- FILE
- 669 × 950 px · JPEG
COMMENTARY
UNDERLINED TERMS ARE DEFINED IN THE GLOSSARY.
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 BaroqueThe period in art history from about 1600 to about 1750. In this sense the term covers a wide range of styles and artists. In painting and sculpture there were three main forms of Baroque: (1) sumptuous display, a style associated with the Catholic Counter Reformation and the absolutist courts of Europe (Bernini, Rubens); (2) dramatic realism (Caravaggio); and (3) everyday realism, a development seen in particular in Holland (Rembrandt, Vermeer). In architecture, there was an emphasis on expressiveness and grandeur, achieved through scale, the dramatic use of light and shadow, and increasingly elaborate decoration. In a more limited sense the term Baroque often refers to the first of these categories. The development of the Baroque reflects the period's religious tensions (Catholic versus Protestant); a new and more expansive world view based on science and exploration; and the growth of absolutist monarchies. painters of Italy and northern Europe.
OTHER WORKS BY GIOVANNI FRANCESCO CAROTO
CITE THIS RECORD — BIBTEX
@online{wga-rd0b15e01a3bcaa,
author = {Krén, Emil and Marx, Daniel},
title = {Sophonisba Drinking the Poison by CAROTO, Giovanni Francesco},
organization = {{Web Gallery of Art}},
date = {2026-09-13},
url = {https://beta.wga.hu/artists/caroto-giovanni-francesco-re0b9f7a5e1bf5f/sophonisba-drinking-the-poison-rd0b15e01a3bcaa},
urldate = {2026-09-13},
langid = {english}
}ACCESSED 2026-09-13. REPLACE THE AUTHOR FIELD WITH THE COMMENTARY AUTHOR WHERE ONE IS NAMED.