Ave Caesar! Morituri te salutant
Jean-Léon Gérôme, 1859
Gladiators salute Vitellius in the packed Colosseum — imperial spectacle at its height.
About this work
Ave Caesar! Morituri te salutant is an 1859 painting by Jean-Léon Gérôme, shown at the Paris Salon of 1859. A line of gladiators, armed and armoured, raise their arms in salute toward the emperor's box in a vast, packed amphitheatre, while attendants drag away the bodies of the dead. The title is a version of a Latin phrase recorded by the historian Suetonius: "Hail, emperor, those who are about to die salute you". According to Suetonius it was shouted in AD 52 by captives and criminals condemned to fight in a mock naval battle on Lake Fucinus before the emperor Claudius, who replied "Or not". The phrase is not recorded anywhere else in Roman history, and historians doubt it was ever a regular gladiators' salute; Gérôme's painting helped make it one in the popular imagination. As the Yale University Art Gallery notes, the emperor shown is Vitellius, although the Colosseum was not dedicated until AD 80. Gérôme returned to the arena in Pollice Verso of 1872. The painting is in the Yale University Art Gallery and measures 93.1 × 145.4 cm.
Sources: Wikipedia: Ave Imperator, morituri te salutant · Yale University Art Gallery · Wikimedia Commons
Print facts
- Native resolution
- 3,000 × 1,881 px
- Sharp at 150 ppi up to
- 20 × 12 in
- Sizes
- Small (20 × 13 in) · $100 · 145 ppi
Medium (24 × 15 in) · $150 · 125 ppi - Price includes
- Frame and US shipping · 14–21 days · 30-day returns
FAQ
Where can I buy a framed print of Ave Caesar! Morituri te salutant?
Here. Ave Caesar! Morituri te salutant is available as a framed print in two sizes: Small (20 × 13 in) for $100 and Medium (24 × 15 in) for $150. Prices include the frame and US shipping; delivery takes 14–21 days, with 30-day returns.
What size works best for Ave Caesar! Morituri te salutant?
The file is 3,000 × 1,881 px, so Small (20 × 13 in) is the sharpest choice at 145 ppi. Medium (24 × 15 in) prints at 125 ppi: fine from a few feet away, softer up close.
Is it legal to print Ave Caesar! Morituri te salutant?
Yes. Ave Caesar! Morituri te salutant is in the public domain: its copyright, if it ever had one, expired long ago. In the United States a faithful photograph of a public-domain painting does not create a new copyright (Bridgeman v. Corel, 1999), so the image can be printed and sold freely.
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