Pollice Verso
Jean-Léon Gérôme, 1872
A victorious murmillo stands over a fallen opponent in the Colosseum and looks up to the stands, where the Vestals and the crowd turn their thumbs to demand the kill.
About this work
Pollice Verso ("with a turned thumb") is an 1872 painting by the French artist Jean-Léon Gérôme. A victorious murmillo stands over a defeated retiarius in the Colosseum, while spectators, the Vestal Virgins among them, give the thumbs-down; the beaten man raises two fingers to plead for mercy, and the emperor watches from his box. Alexander Turney Stewart bought the painting from Gérôme for 80,000 francs, a record for the artist, and exhibited it in New York. Its accuracy was debated almost at once, and a pamphlet of 1879 collected the evidence, including a letter from Gérôme himself. The question is still open: Roman sources do not make clear whether the thumb was turned up, down, sideways or hidden in the hand, but the painting did much to popularise the idea that thumbs down meant death. The architecture is based on accurate drawings and the armour follows examples found at Pompeii, with some inaccuracies in the murmillo's. The painting inspired the 2000 film Gladiator and is now in the Phoenix Art Museum in Arizona.
Sources: Wikipedia · Wikimedia Commons
Print facts
- Native resolution
- 2,425 × 1,630 px
- Sharp at 150 ppi up to
- 16 × 10 in
- Sizes
- Small (20 × 13 in) · $100 · 121 ppi
Medium (24 × 16 in) · $150 · 101 ppi - Price includes
- Frame and US shipping · 14–21 days · 30-day returns
FAQ
Where can I buy a framed print of Pollice Verso?
Here. Pollice Verso is available as a framed print in two sizes: Small (20 × 13 in) for $100 and Medium (24 × 16 in) for $150. Prices include the frame and US shipping; delivery takes 14–21 days, with 30-day returns.
What size works best for Pollice Verso?
The file is 2,425 × 1,630 px, so Small (20 × 13 in) is the sharpest choice at 121 ppi. Medium (24 × 16 in) prints at 101 ppi: fine from a few feet away, softer up close.
Is it legal to print Pollice Verso?
Yes. Pollice Verso 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.
