Pollice Verso (1872)
Pollice Verso, painted by Jean-Léon Gérôme in 1872, freezes the half second between the plea and the verdict. The victorious murmillo pins the fallen retiarius to the sand. The beaten man raises two fingers toward the stands, the gladiator's plea for mercy. Above him the Vestal Virgins lean over the marble with their thumbs turned down, and the emperor has not yet moved. Fifty thousand people treat one man's life as an afternoon's entertainment.This is the canvas that taught the world the gesture. No Roman source ever settled which way the thumb turned. Gérôme chose down, and his choice outlived the empire. In 2000, producers showed this painting to Ridley Scott before he had read a page of the Gladiator script, and that single image of Rome in its glory and wickedness convinced him to direct the film. The original hangs in the Phoenix Art Museum in Arizona.Museum grade giclee on 380gsm cotton canvas, hand stretched over kiln dried pine, ready to hang. 100 day returns, free tracked shipping, lifetime color warranty.
Specifications
- Style
- Frameless Canvas, Wooden Canvas
- Size
- 12x9, 18x12, 24x16, 30x20, 36x24
Variants (10)
- Frameless Canvas / 12x9 — 49.00 USD — In stock
- Frameless Canvas / 18x12 — 79.00 USD — In stock
- Frameless Canvas / 24x16 — 99.00 USD — In stock
- Frameless Canvas / 30x20 — 119.00 USD — In stock
- Frameless Canvas / 36x24 — 149.00 USD — In stock
- Wooden Canvas / 12x9 — 89.00 USD — In stock
- Wooden Canvas / 18x12 — 119.00 USD — In stock
- Wooden Canvas / 24x16 — 149.00 USD — In stock
- Wooden Canvas / 30x20 — 189.00 USD — In stock
- Wooden Canvas / 36x24 — 229.00 USD — In stock
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