Curtius Leaping into the Gulf

Curtius Leaping into the Gulf is an 1842 history painting by the British artist Benjamin Robert Haydon. It depicts a scene from the early Roman Republic recorded by Livy. Marcus Curtius bravely leaps into a giant hole that had opened up in the Roman Forum in an act of self-sacrifice in order to save the city. The face of Curtius is a self-portrait of Haydon, while he used the Elgin Marbles as an inspiration for the horse. It was displayed at the 1843 Royal Institution exhibition in London. It was generally praised and was described by the Morning Chronicle as "the finest work of art in the exhibition". The painting is in the collection of the Royal Albert Memorial Museum in Exeter, having been acquired in 1933.