Romulus setting up a Trophy

Romulus, the first king of Rome, sets a trophy of his defeated enemy Acron on his shoulder in triumph and in dedication to Jupiter, the king of the ancient Roman gods. This study in oils by the Flemish artist Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640) draws upon the ancient accounts of the founding of the city of Rome, Italy. The composition is dominated by the swirl of Romulus’ crimson cloak edged in gold. The steely grey blue of Romulus’ opulent armour and his vigorous pose contrasts with the ghostly grey-white of Acron’s battle dress that is now reduced to a lifeless assembly hung and hoisted onto a wooden pole. Romulus’ gaze is directed past Acron’s helmet and to the heavens. He is giving thanks to Jupiter Feretrius, an incarnation of Jupiter that means ‘he who carries off the spoils of war’. In the landscape behind the heroic figure a temple building is depicted, and probably refers to the first to have been consecrated to Jupiter in Rome and dedicated in tribute by Romulus himself.  With one arm grasping the remnants of Acron’s armour, while the other offers up his trophy in thanks, Rubens’ rapid brushstrokes give a sense of the energy of the fight and the exhilarating moment of glory.

The story of Romulus and Acron is told in numerous ancient texts, but here Rubens appears to reference the accounts of ancient authors Plutarch (about 46-120 AD) in Romulus (16:5) and of Titus Livius (called, Livy) (about 59 BC-AD 17) in The History of Rome (1:5). Livy was a Roman historian famous for his History of Rome, a mammoth work which begins with the legendary foundation of the city.  Plutarch was a Greek writer famed for his Lives, a series of biographies of ancient philosophers and rulers. Both accounts tell of how Romulus sought out women to populate the new city and abducted the Sabine women who lived in the nearby town of Caeninenses. Acron, King of the Caeninenses, sent an army in retaliation but Romulus and Acron agreed to fight each other in single combat, with Romulus vowing to dedicate the armour of Acron to Jupiter Feretrius should he win the fight. Romulus won the duel and incorporated the citizens of the conquered town into Rome. The accounts describe the memorial of the victory – or trophy – that was set up on the field of battle at the spot where Acron had been defeated. A trophy consisted of captured arms and standards hung upon a tree or stake in the semblance of a man, inscribed with details of the battle along with a dedication to a god or gods. To destroy a trophy was regarded as a sacrilege since, as an object dedicated to a god, it must be left to decay naturally. Both Livy and Plutarch were important sources of subject matter for artists and Rubens was literate in the classics. This study is thought to be intended for a tapestry or a print as it is in reverse – Romulus holds his sword on the right, when it would normally be held on the left. A few years earlier, Rubens had completed a set of tapestry designs on the life of the Roman emperor Constantine.