Arria and Paetus

François-André Vincent, 1784

Painted by François-André Vincent in 1784, this history painting depicts a legendary episode from ancient Rome. According to the account preserved by Pliny the Younger, the senator Aulus Caecina Paetus is ordered by Emperor Claudius to take his own life, but hesitates. His wife Arria then seizes the dagger, stabs herself, and hands it to him with words of encouragement: it does not hurt. The scene illustrates the Stoic ideal of facing death with calm and dignity, and Arria's gesture works more as a moral example than as dramatic action. Vincent was a leading Neoclassical artist and a rival of Jacques-Louis David. He seems to have drawn on an earlier treatment of the episode by the playwright Marie-Anne Barbier. This version, now in St. Louis, is the first of two; he later painted a larger sequel showing the aftermath. Both works were shown together at the Salon of 1785 in Paris.

Painter: François-André Vincent
Date: 1784
Medium: oil paint, canvas
Museum: Saint Louis Art Museum, St. Louis
Genre: history painting
Depicts: Aulus Caecina Paetus, Arria

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**The Ploughing Lesson**1798Musée des Beaux-Arts de Bordeaux

**Zeuxis Choosing Models from the Beautiful Women of Croton**1789Louvre Museum

**William Tell Overturning the Barque of Gessler**1791Musée des Augustins

**Democritus among the Abderitans**1790Los Angeles County Museum of Art

**President Molé Confronted by Insurgents**1779Louvre Museum

**Henri IV faisant entrer des vivres dans Paris**1783Louvre Museum

**Portrait de la baronne de Chalvet-Souville, née Marie de Broutin, Vincent**1793Louvre Museum