Curtius Leaping into the Gulf - RAMM

Benjamin Robert Haydon  1786-1846

In legend, a giant chasm once opened up in the centre of ancient Rome. Marcus Curtius persuaded the gods to close it again by jumping in and sacrificing himself.

1842, Oil on canvas       

Size of original work: 304.8 x 213.3 cm

Who was Marcus Curtius

“Marcus Curtius was a Roman Youth who devoted himself to the Manes for the safety of his own country, about 360 BC.  A Wide gap, called afterwards ‘Curtius Lacus,’ had suddenly opened in the forum of Rome and the Oracle said that it would never close before Rome threw into it whatever it had most precious.  Curtius immediately perceived that no less than a human sacrifice was required.  He armed himself, mounted his horse and solemnly threw himself into the gulf, which instantly closed over him.”(Livy vii, c. 6, Valerius Maximus 5, c, 6; History of Rome)

A mythical deed of self-sacrifice inevitably identified with the artist’s own life story and act of suicide.

Benjamin Robert Haydon

In almost every sense Benjamin Robert Haydon was a model nineteenth century romantic genius, as he himself believed. At times arrogant and self destructive, he was also a gifted intellectual and friend to politicians such as Robert Peel and the poets, William Wordsworth and John Keats. Born in Plymouth, Devon, he studied at the Royal Academy schools in London and soon decided on history painting as a career. Unimpressed by much of the work around him, he determined to revive the art of painting historical, mythological and biblical subjects on a grand scale. Constantly short of money and frustrated by lack of recognition, he was also forced to paint conventional portraits and scenes from everyday life. After a long struggle against the establishment, Haydon and his allies persuaded central government to become directly involved in the patronage of art through publicly funded training and the commissioning of frescoes in the House of Commons. However, his failure to gain a commission came as a bitter blow and he became increasingly despondent. On the 22 June, 1846 he committed suicide with razorblade and pistol.

About the painting

Undoubtedly Haydon empathised with the character of Curtius and the Roman ideal of heroism. He told the writer, Elizabeth Barrett that ‘Except in Curtius, for which my head is the best I ever saw, I have never made a portrait’ and she echoed his sentiment: ‘But Mr. Haydon…you are Marcus Curtius…’. Nevertheless, the subject was first conceived as early as 1836 – long before the artist’s tragic demise. Moreover, Haydon completed the picture in the fall of 1842, more than six months before his devastating failure in the House of Commons frescoes competition. In his exploration of human facial expression he frequently represented his own features believing them to be noble and ‘Socratic’. Therefore as a self-portrait, Curtius was hardly unique, although with hindsight we are tempted to see the painting as prophetic.

First exhibited at the British Institution in 1843, the picture was unevenly reviewed and, in some circles, ridiculed. In a letter recently acquired by the Museum Haydon complained bitterly:

 “…I have not committed an error in placing Curtius. Critics conclude at once, never reflecting on what an infinite number of acts and thoughts in the artist’s mind, have preceded the decision and adoption. I had a grey mare, which I kept leaping for two hours – I had a fine model, naked in the lower limbs – I sketched as he descended in the leap – I had a fine old hunter, two men held up his legs & corn was put on the ground…I sketched his neck during the eating.

“I made at least 50 careful studies, I studied the anatomical construction - I painted the head from a beautiful creature which once belonged to Lord Willoughby D’Eresby, and after all this careful thought, comes a boyish critic with his black ribbon round his neck, & turns away - his eyes frightened & dismayed, at the horror he would feel in such a position, & abuses the picture accordingly.”

Buyers proved elusive, though there proved to be a market for small copies. Haydon, unlike Marcus Curtius, had failed to achieve greatness and his suicide was an act born of despair rather than heroism.