Frans Francken the Younger

The Continence of Scipio

Lot Closed

January 30, 04:35 PM GMT

Estimate

20,000 - 30,000 USD

Lot Details

Description

Property from a North American Private Collection

Frans Francken the Younger

Antwerp 1581 - 1642

The Continence of Scipio

signed lower right: Do ffranck f...

oil on copper

copper: 14 3/8 by 20 7/8 in.; 36.4 by 53 cm.

framed: 18 1/4 by 25 in.; 46.4 by 63.5 cm.

Anonymous sale, London, Sotheby's, 24 November 1971, lot 107 (as the Family of Darius before Alexander);
There acquired by Caretto;
Possibly, private collection, Spain;
Anonymous sale, Amsterdam, Christie's, 16 November 2006, lot 49;
There acquired by the present owner.

U. Härting, Frans Francken der Jüngere (1581-1642), Freren 1989, p. 334, cat no. 327, reproduced (as dated circa 1630).

Frans Francken the Younger explored the subject of The Continence of Scipio on several occasions throughout his career in various formats and media.¹ This signed example on copper, datable to circa 1630, is a vibrant and detailed example from his mature career.

This painting recounts the mercy of the general, Scipio Africanus, an episode from Roman history recounted by Livy. Here, the enthroned Scipio reunites the young female prisoner from New Carthage with her fiancé, who kneels here in the foreground with a large treasure as ransom for her return. Scipio returns the gifts as wedding presents to the couple, asking them only that they and their families in Carthage be friends of Rome.

1. See Härting 1989, cat. nos. 323-328.