100–27 BC
Julius Caesar & the Fall of the Roman Republic
Julius Caesar won Gaul, crossed the Rubicon river in 49 BC with his army, beat his rival Pompey and made himself dictator of Rome. Many senators feared he wanted to be king, and on the Ides of March in 44 BC a group of them stabbed him to death. The civil wars that followed ended the Roman Republic for good.
Why artists painted it
Few events have been painted so often. Artists were fascinated by Caesar's fall: the moment when power, friendship and fear all collided in a single room.
The Death of Caesar · Jean-Léon Gérôme, 1859
The Death of Caesar
Jean-Léon Gérôme · 1859
🕰️ Painted about 1,890 years later
Gérôme leaves Caesar's body on the floor of the Senate while the killers walk away, a quiet and chilling view of the Ides of March.
The Death of Julius Caesar
Vincenzo Camuccini · 1798
🕰️ Painted about 1,820 years later
Camuccini shows the senators closing in on Caesar, with the statue of Pompey looking on.
Cleopatra and Caesar
Jean-Léon Gérôme · 1866
🕰️ Painted about 1,890 years later
A young Cleopatra is delivered to Caesar rolled in a carpet. This meeting started a famous alliance.
The Murder of Caesar
Karl von Piloty · 1865
🕰️ Painted about 1,890 years later
On the Ides of March in 44 BC, Roman senators, including Caesar's friend Brutus, stabbed Julius Caesar in the Senate.
Cicero Denounces Catiline in the Roman Senate
Cesare Maccari · 1889
🕰️ Painted about 1,920 years later
In 63 BC the great speaker Cicero stands and accuses Catiline of plotting against Rome, and the other senators move away from him.
Vercingetorix Throws Down His Arms at the Feet of Julius Caesar
Lionel Royer · 1899
🕰️ Painted about 1,930 years later
The Gaulish chief Vercingetorix surrenders to Julius Caesar in 52 BC after the siege of Alesia, ending a big revolt against Rome.
Marius at Minturnae
Jean Germain Drouais · 1786
🕰️ Painted about 1,810 years later
The Roman general Marius, hiding from enemies in a marsh, stares down the soldier sent to kill him, who drops his sword.
Caius Marius Amid the Ruins of Carthage
John Vanderlyn · 1807
🕰️ Painted about 1,830 years later
The exiled Roman general Marius sits alone among the ruins of Carthage, a symbol of how quickly fortune changes.
Fulvia and Mark Antony, or Fulvia's Revenge
Francisco Maura y Montaner · 1888
🕰️ Painted about 1,920 years later
Fulvia, the fierce wife of Mark Antony, takes revenge on the dead Cicero, the great speaker who had attacked her husband, in this gruesome scene from the civil wars after Caesar's death.
The Death of Caesar
Victor Honoré Janssens · 1700
🕰️ Painted about 1,730 years later
Julius Caesar, stabbed by senators on the Ides of March in 44 BC, falls at the foot of the statue of his old rival Pompey.