Giuseppe Cesari, Cavaliere d’Armino, “Battle Between the Horatii and the Curiatii”, 1612-13, Oil on Canvas
Giuseppi Cesari was an Italian Mannerist painter who was much patronized in Rome by the Popes Clement and Sixtus V. He was the head of the studio in which Caravaggio trained upon the young painter’s arrival in Rome.
The image of the painting is taken from a story of the Roman king Tullus Hostillus’ war with the city of Alba Longa. It was agreed by Hostillus and the King of Alba Longa that rather than fighting a costly war between their armies, the conflict would be settled by a fight to the death between six warriors: the Horatii, three Romah triplets, and the three triplets from Alba Longa, known as the Curiatii. Two of the Roman warriors were killed; but the third warrior, after exhausting his three opponents, slew them and took their armour.
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